Description: FASB's Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 97 contains wide-sweeping changes to the preparation of GAAP financials for insurance companies. The focus of this article will be on the ramifications of the interest rate FASB has decided to use to amortize deferred acquisition costs.

Description: The Actuary Vol. 22, No. 2. This article discusses how the the choice of basis for measuring Interest Rate Spread impacts pricing and accounting for interest sensitive products.

Description: In session 51CS of the Maui I Spring Meeting the Panel describes what every actuary should know about mergers and acquisitions in the life and health insurance business. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Vol. 24, No. 1.

Description: This article describes that some companies are ‘approaching the problem of how to accommodate Universal Life in GAAP statements by using a simple method which produces not unreasonable results and waiting for consensus on appropriate methodology to develop. This describes so of the methodology currently in use.

Description: This paper identifies and discusses certain critical GAAP issues, such as the development of appropriate valuation assumptions, the applicability of the lock-in principle, and the evaluation of recoverability of deferred acquisition cost. In addition, the paper describes a valuation procedure that may be used to implement prospective changes to current valuation assumptions for in-force policies. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1981, Vol. 33.

Description: This article is aimed to cover the following: 1) Provides an assessment of income volatility under Long Duration Targeted Improvements (LDTI) for several key types of long duration contracts along with select illustrations, and compares against those under current GAAP, 2) Discuss areas where accounting policies or methodologies can influence income volatility, and 3) Show how a company's management reporting can be adapted to help explain income variances under LDTI.

Description: The American Academy of Actuaries identified two general approaches to the purchase accounting problem in its Interpretation I-D. The approaches are referred to therein as the defined initial reserve method and the defined valuation premium method, and the Interpretation does not show favoritism toward one or the other. This paper submits a 'best' method, arrived at through the following steps: 1. The purchase accounting problem is defined, 2. The effects of the defined initial reserve method and the defined valuation premium method on the ensuing profit projection and resulting balance sheet are examined, and 3. One method is shown to be the most consistent mechanically and most consistent with generally accepted accounting principles 'GAAP'. Finally, this paper discusses a few of the considerations in setting the actuarial assumptions to be used for purchase accounting. The task is slightly less difficult when using the method suggested as best. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1982, Vol. 34.

Description: Provides an overview of SFAS 60, 91, 97, and 120 and the importance of U.S. GAAP for Asian insurance companies with a country by country analysis.

Description: This article highlights features of the SOA's Regulatory Web Resource. The intent is to encourage greater use of the Resource among section members.