Description: In this article, we collected data from the companies’ roll-forward disclosures related to calendar years 2021 and 2022 on Market Risk Benefit and shared a high-level summary of the Market Risk Benefit volatility that a focus group of companies incurred and summarized the most common ways to mitigate volatility.

Description: This is the final article in a five-part series about accounting for reinsurance under GAAP Targeted Improvements to the Accounting for Long-Duration Contracts (LDTI). It looks at some concerns that arise when new reinsurance is purchased to cover previously-issued contracts. The article describes what formal guidance is available. Where that guidance leaves off, the article presents practical solutions to achieving performance objectives.

Description: This paper highlights the impact on shareholder equity and AOCI due to the introduction of LDTI during a period of falling interest rates. The paper is intended to provide an example of an analysis that will help actuaries explain the interaction of LDTI and falling interest rates.

Description: This is the first in a series of articles about accounting for reinsurance under GAAP Targeted Improvements to the Accounting for Long-Duration Contracts (LDTI). It provides an introduction to the topic, giving an overview of what has and hasn't changed. Changes include a few that directly address reinsurance and others that indirectly result from changes to direct accounting and the existing ties between reinsurance and direct accounting.

Description: Baseline and "what if"/stressed projections of cash flows, financial statements and capital requirements are critical inputs for a range of business purposes: forecasts, risk management, liquidity management, strategic decision making, etc. Forward-looking projections have historically been inefficient and were performed in silos, making it difficult to scale the process as CFOs and CROs ask for more. The presenters discuss challenges of the forecast process and opportunities to meet desired future capabilities. They will also discuss "what if" analysis and ways to support production of forward-looking projections for "what if" analysis in an efficient way.

Description: The NAIC has adopted revisions on Actuarial Guidelines 43 and C3 Phase II for Variable Annuities ("NAIC VA Reform"), effective January 1, 2020. The panel of presenters will provide background and overview of the Reform, and discuss detailed aspects of the new CTE Amount, Standard Projection and Withdrawal Delay Cohort Method. The panelists will share implementation considerations and the Reform's implications to hedging.

Description: The arrival of ASU 2018-12 (a.k.a Targeted Improvements to the Accounting for Long-Duration Contracts or GAAP Targeted Improvements) presents insurers with augmented financial reporting risk across all areas of the valuation process. Naturally, the internal control frameworks that serve to mitigate these risks must evolve and expand. Valuation actuaries should view this transformative event as an opportunity to take an active role in developing new and improved controls that are both effective and sustainable.

Description: The presenters at this session will provide an overview of recent developments in statutory valuation, U.S . GAAP and regulatory capital issues pertaining to life and annuity products as well as IFRS and the global insurance capital standard.

Description: This article discusses important implications of the upcoming Long-Duration Targeted Improvements (LDTI) accounting change for the modeling actuary. We discuss the modeling implications of new GAAP standards for Market Risk Benefit (MRB), including identification of MRBs, implementation of fair valuation in actuarial systems and retroactive determination of at-issue valuation inputs for transition. We also examine the modeling implications of the other aspects of the accounting change, including Liability for Future Policy Benefit (LFPB), Deferred Acquisition Cost (DAC), and other transition and disclosure requirements

Description: The article focuses on implementation considerations for insurance companies that will be implementing both IFRS 17 and US GAAP Targeted Improvements. Many of the practical considerations are common to both implementations and will also be of interest to readers who are only implementing one of these changes.

Description: Read the June 2018 issue of The Financial Reporter published by the Financial Reporting Section of the SOA.

Description: The article discusses industry practices relating to US GAAP SOP 03-1 valuation for universal life with secondary guarantee products.

Description: This article will focus on introducing where IFRS17 differs from US GAAP conceptually, and key aspects of this paradigm shift from actuaries’ perspective.

Description: This article describes changes to financial reporting for variable annuities under US GAAP, IFRS and Statutory regulations, and implications for hedging.

Description: Read the September 2017 issue of The Financial Reporter published by the Financial Reporting Section.

Description: Formulas for changes in GAAP liabilities and liability accrual rates are shown for three assumption update methods—retrospective, prospective and immediate.

Description: A discussion of the FASB's Sept. 29, 2016 issued exposure draft on targeted improvements to accounting for long- duration insurance contracts.

Description: December 2015 issue of The Financial Reporter

Description: After a summary of FASB decisions in their GAAP Targeted Improvements project, this article describes several issues that will need to be resolved either by the board or in actuarial practice and argues for seeking solutions that provide meaningful results without overly complicating valuation processes.

Description: Considerations when developing internal models for use in Solvency II.

Description: This paper aims to help financial and insurance practitioners better recognize, assess, and respond to large scale, large impact, rare events (LSLIRE’s) which are occurrences currently often wrongly labeled as being unpredictable black swans. A black swan, as Nassim Taleb defines it in his popular book, The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable, Random House & Penguin (2007-2010 2nd. Ed.) is 1) an outlier event, which 2) carries extreme impact, and 3) “makes us concoct explanations for its occurrence after the fact.” Elsewhere, Taleb says it is unpredictable, which is why people concoct explanations. Other people use the term in many and various ways, to enfold events missed by most people because they are rare, missed by computer models and/or experts, and to include events they simply seem personally to have misunderstood. The paper also discusses building better ways to assess such events’ background characteristics, emergence dynamics, logics, and other foreseeable attributes. A secondary focus is educating practitioners to better respond - whether to limit damage or to take advantage of - the opportunities that arise from what others are likely to miss or misjudge during and after the emergence of LSLIRE (AKA black swan) events.

Description: This article gives the highlights of the 88-page report including detailed assumptions for products including universal life with secondary guarantees (ULSG), cash accumulation universal life (CashAccum), current assumption universal life (CAUL), indexed universal life (IUL) and variable universal life (VUL). The 29 companies and 83 products represented in the report allow for an interesting perspective on premium persistency assumptions used in pricing, cash flow testing (CFT) and generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP)/international financial reporting standard (IFRS) functions. This article covers some general results and ULSG-specific results.

Description: This report summarizes the results of a research project undertaken by the Society of Actuaries to study the possible effects of the International Accounting Standards Board’s IASB Discussion Paper describing its Preliminary Views on Insurance Contracts on nine representative U.S. life, health and annuity products.

Description: This paper considers the question of whether the growth in the size of financial statements witnessed over the last several years has yielded an increase in the quality of disclosure around issues of financial risk and to what extent this disclosure is satisfying the perceived needs of readers of the financial statements, as represented by the investment analyst community.

Description: US GAAP for Life Insurers chapter 3 spreadsheets. These various spreadsheets show various tables related to insurance company expenses both deferrable and non-deferrable along with DAC and Persistncy bonus amortization schedules. Other tables shown include account value roll forwards Expected Gross Profits EGPs. Please see the book US GAAP for Life Insurers for full information on US GAAP Accounting.

Description: This session from the 2005 Life Spring Meeting discusses mergers and acquisitions activity, the factors that may influence the level of M&A activity and the potential opportunities for M&A activity in the marketplace today. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Vol. 31, No. 1.

Description: This session from the 2005 SOA Spring Meeting discusses SOP 03-1, DAC on internal replacements and Sarbanes-Oxley - SOX Section 404. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Vol. 31, No. 1. Session 70F

Description: This session 60OF of the 2004 Valuation Actuary Symposium open forum addresses current issues of interest to actuaries in the application of U.S. GAAP. Experts in the application of GAAP to life insurance companies lead discussions on the theoretical and practical aspects of these topics and other emerging issues.

Description: From a session at the Spring meeting of the Society of Actuaries held in San Antonio, Texas, June 14-15, 2004 The panelists discuss the benefits of hedging variable annuity guarantees, the challenges they face and how they keep score.

Description: This presentation is an open forum, session 48OF, from the 2004 Spring Meeting of the Society of Actuaries, held June 14-15 in San Antonio, TX. The panelists focus on emerging U.S. GAAP accounting issues, and the implementation issues encountered by affected companies. The panelists discuss Statement of Position [SOP] 03-1 on nontraditional long-duration life insurance contracts, the SOP on internal replacements, and the impact of the Derivatives Implementation Group issue B36 on embedded derivatives for modified coinsurance and funds withheld reinsurance. Discussion from participants is included. From the Record of Society of Actuaries, Volume 30, No. 2.

Description: Panelists discuss the following current GAAP issues: [1] internal replacements, [2] purchase accounting [including FAS 141 and 142], [3] emerging accounting issues, and [4] the Statement of Position from the AICPA regarding non-traditional policies and features. From the 2002 Record of Society of Actuaries, Volume 28, No. 3. Session 15OF of the Boston Annual Meeting.

Description: This presentation is a Teaching Session, number 31TS, from the 2002 Valuation Actuary Symposium, held September 19-20 in Lake Buena Vista, FL. The instructors discuss the practical aspects of implementing the draft American Institute of Certified Public Accountants [AICPA] Statement of Position [SOP] regarding nontraditional long-duration contracts. Specific items include separate account reporting, valuation of products with multiple account values, valuation of death/other insurance benefit under universal life-type contracts, and sales inducements.

Description: Presented at May 2002 Spring Meeting. This session covers the AICPA's proposed statement of position on accounting and reporting by insurance enterprises for certain nontraditional, long-duration contracts and for separate accounts. It requires new GAAP reserves for certain variable annuities with guaranteed minimum death benefits 'GMDBs'.

Description: Presented at May 2002 Spring Meeting. This session covers the current status of FAS 133 and extensions such as the proposed statement of position on accounting and reporting by insurance enterprises for certain nontraditional, long-duration contracts and for separate accounts.

Description: Presented at May 2002 Spring Meeting. Discusses accounting methods in different countries as well as recent developments in international accounting standards for insurance.

Description: From an interactive forum session at the 2001 Valuation Actuary Symposium, held in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, November 29-30, 2001 Discussion of the major financial reporting issues and concerns of senior actuaries in life insurance companies. Discussion focused cash flow testing methods and interpretation of results.

Description: From a session at the 2001 Valuation Actuary Symposium, held in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, November 29-30, 2001 Presents questions to actuaries who are experts in the field of actuarial valuation of insurance company assets and liabilities.

Description: This panel discussion session explored alternative methods for accounting recognition of the costs of policyholder dividends. The theoretical bases, as well as the impact on anticipated earnings patterns, are discussed. Implementation issues are also discussed. Discussion of participating products in the UK and accounting methods used for them is also included.

Description: Attendees will hear a brief summary of the major requirements of the Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 133, Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities SFAS 133, a more detailed description of certain key provisions is given and the leaders summarize the impact on the industry. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Volume 27, No. 3, Session 42TS of the New Orleans Annual Meeting.

Description: Stochastic DAC Unlocking for Variable Annuity Products by Alastair Longley-Cook, Dick Shaw, Mike Sherrill, and Jay Vadiveloo from The Financial Reporter, March 2001, Issue No. 45.

Description: From a session at the 2000 Valuation Actuary Symposium held in Washington DC, September 14-15, 2000 The session provides a brief overview of a variety of financial reporting topics, most of which were discussed in more detail in the subsequent sessions. The overview included topical issues as follows: • National Association of Insurance Commissioners NAIC Life and Health Actuarial Task Force developments and directions • Other NAIC/regulatory development • American Academy of Actuaries AAA/Actuarial Standards Board ASB developments • Financial Accounting Standards Board/Security Exchange Commission FASB/SEC and Generally Accepted Accounting Principles GAAP developments • Tax developments • Reinsurance development • Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Modernization Act

Description: This presentation is an open forum, session number 11OF, from the 2000 Valuation Actuary Symposium, held September 14-15 in Washington, DC. The panelists discuss recent Generally Accepted Accounting Principles [GAAP] developments and practical problems in implementing and maintaining GAAP systems. Topics include recent GAAP pronouncements and American Institute of Certified Public Accountants [AICPA] Insurance Companies Committee developments. Discussion from participants is included.

Description: From a session at a meeting of the Society of Actuaries held in San Diego, CA, June 22-23, 2000 Panel discussion of the work being done by the Society of Actuaries and the NAIC to further development of a Unified Valuation System.

Description: The purpose of this article is to explore the causes and effects of FAS 97 DPAC amortization revisions and to encourage the preparation of analysis that will assist in the interpretation and communication of results for management users of GAAP product line financial reports involving such revisions. From Society of Actuaries Financial Reporting Section Monograph, M-AS99-1.

Description: This is a series of 4 articles designed to address fundamental concepts such as GAAP rules and their application to some of the major accident and health lines of business offered by insurers. The first article begins with a review of the structure/hierarchy of generally accepted accounting principles GAAP. From Society of Actuaries Financial Reporting Monograph, M-AS99-1.

Description: This presentation is from session number 4, presented at the 1999 Valuation Actuary Symposium, held September 23-24 in Los Angeles. Noting that under U.S. GAAP, setting assumptions and accounting practices can have a significant impact on the earnings process [i.e., actual results, sources of earnings, and the earnings analysis process], the panelists address options available to the actuary for setting assumptions and defining practices for specific product types [both FAS60 and FAS97], the advantages, disadvantages, and practical considerations associated with each approach, and specific examples of the effect of the different approaches on earnings. Discussion from participants is included.

Description: 1999 SOA Annual Meeting, San Francisco. This panel discussion dealt with several new product types and the accounting profession's efforts to provide guidance. The five product types below do not fit neatly into the rules set forth in Statement of Financial Accounting Standards 50 and 97: 1. Variable annuities with guaranteed living benefits. 2. Equity-indexed products. 3. Market-value-adjusted annuities. 4. Annuities with a front-end bonus feature. 5. Investment contracts with no significant source of profit other than interest spread.

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: 1998 Valuation Actuary Symposium. In this open forum questions were fielded by the panel of experts. Some of the questions: 1. How do you pick spreads for use in your reinvestment strategy? 2. What's generally being done in terms of dynamically modeling policyholder lapsation? 3. How do companies treat riders and dump-in premiums and estimated gross profits for GAAP? 4. What impact does the current interest environment have on testing you are going to do this year? 5. Are there any suitable techniques for trying to aggregate the variable products with the fixed products?

Description: This literature guide provides the user with a summary of representative sources of current general knowledge for continuing education purposes.

Description: Presented at May 1996 Spring Meeting. Panelists share experiences and discuss alternative approaches to various implementation issues related to mutual company GAAP conversions.

Description: 1996 Valuation Actuary Symposium. Topics discussed in this session on GAAP and purchase GAAP included: 1. FAS 115, so-called actuarial or SEC adjustments, and how practice has been evolving in that area. 2. How companies determine the gross margins for mutual GAAP products and the traditional participating business of mutual companies. 3. Mutual company GAAP. 4. Basics of purchase accounting.

Description: This session is about meeting the needs for financial information in managing an insurance company. Topics include: 1. What are management's basic needs how are they met can financial systems continue to meet the challenge? 2. Are fundamental changes ahead for GAAP reporting? 3. Is it time for mutual companies to provide more meaningful financial information? 4. Can current regulatory reporting meet the needs of the 21st century? 5. Can separate statutory and GAAP systems continue to coexist? 6. Will the United States regulatory environment reduce our global competitiveness? 7. Variance analysis - Why your predictions were wrong - Which variances are acts of God? - Which variances should be blamed on somebody? - How to deal with interest rate fluctuations 8. Market valuation, why? - What questions are being addressed with market valuation

Description: Generally accepted accounting principles 'GAAP' are those that apply to external financial reporting of publicly owned business enterprises. The principles that constitute GAAP vary between stock and mutual insurers, from product class to product class, and according to the purchase status of the business. This paper highlights additional reading materials that provide concise information regarding GAAP principals.

Description: Presenters discuss: [1] market-value accounting, [2] accounting for mortgage-backed securities [MBSs] and collateralized mortgage obligations [CMOs], [3] the emergence of earnings under FAS 60 and FAS 97 products, and [4] effectively communicating financial results to management. Session 10 of the 1992 Valuation Actuary Symposium.

Description: This session at the SOA 1990 Hartford Spring Meeting is about mutual company GAAP including defining what GAAP means for mutual companies, contrasting it with stock company GAAP, and discussing implementation issues. Alternative Minimum Tax is also discussed.

Description: This paper illustrates a procedure for analyzing the sources of profit under FAS 97 and suggests an analytical procedure for reflecting actual experience and revised future assumptions in the recalculation of the estimated gross profit defined by FAS 97.

Description: This paper examines several methods for dynamically adjusting expense assets to reflect differences between actual and expected persistency. Discussions of the paper are included.

Description: Discusses: [1] the effects of Financial Accounting Standard No. 97 [FAS 97] on recoverability and loss-recognition issues, [2] interest-crediting strategy, ways and means of maintaining the planned interest spread, the effects of the various strategies on lapse experience, and the ultimate effect on recoverability of the deferred acquisition costs, and [3] premium-deficiency testing and the modification of interest, mortality, and expense margins to satisfy the question of loss recognition, or lack of the ability to recover the remaining deferred asset. From the 1988 Record of Society of Actuaries, Vol. 14, No. 3.

Description: 1987 Valuation Actuary Symposium. This open forum discussed the implementation of GAAP for life insurance companies in Canada. Topics included the history, concerns, provisions for adverse deviations, developments, application, and practical implementation.

Description: Presented at October 1986 Annual Meeting. This session discussion is about the report on the FASB project on accounting for Universal Life, update on American Institute of Certified Public Accountants 'AICPA' activities, report on Canadian financial reporting issues, and update on FASB and NAIC activities.

Description: Presented at May 1985 Spring Meeting. This session discussed: Applicable American Academy of Actuaries financial reporting recommendations, Techniques used in establishing margins, Appropriate margins under internal replacement programs, GAAP earnings impact of various methods for establishing margins for adverse deviation, Special considerations for interest-sensitive and lapse-sensitive products.

Description: Presented at May 1985 Spring Meeting. This session discussed: Applicable accounting rules, Replaced policies' unamortized acquisition costs, Capitalizing additional acquisition costs for new policies, Anti-selection on mortality experience of residual block, New policies' appropriate lapse, mortality and interest assumptions, Loss recognition testing, Differences in accounting treatment between the United States and Canada.

Description: This session from the 1984 SOA Toronto Meeting discusses GAAP Accounting Alternatives For New Products including SPDA's, Universal Life, fixed premium variable life, review of the Audit Guide and the recoginition of premium revenue and variable universal life. From Record of the Society of Actuaries Vol. 10, No. 4B

Description: This session from the 1983 SOA Vancouver Meeting discusses GAAP topics including purchase accounting, UL, deferred acquisition costs and others. The value of interim earnings reports and statutory issues are also examined. From Record of Society of Actuaries, Vol. 9, No. 3.

Description: This article asks the question of how to account for the purchase of a life insurance company. It outlines first what the extreme possibilities are, and second, what range of practical approaches might prove acceptable to both the accounting and actuarial profession.

Description: This paper discusses three methods for the amortization of deferred acquisition expenses, DAC and the results when actual experience differs significantly from that assumed. The methods include a static approach with prescheduled amortization, a dynamic technique called the expense reserve factor method, and an aggregate or accumulated premium revenue method. A discussion follows the paper. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1978, Vol. 30.

Description: From the Record 1977 Vol. 3, No. 1, this presentation is from a concurrent session at the Society of Actuaries 1977 Regional Meeting, held in Atlanta March 31-April 1. The presenters discuss various measures of financial results, including net income and surplus, and explore treatment of federal income tax, investment income, expenses, and generally accepted accounting principles, ‘GAAP.’ Planning, projecting, monitoring, and effective use of financial measurements are discussed.

Description: This section presents book reviews and summaries of recent publications. Reviews: '1975 Annual Reports of the Board of Trustees of the Federal OASDI Trust Funds...' by the US Congress, 'Providing Adequate Retirement Income' by Schulz, Carrin, Krupp, Peschke, Sclar and Steenberge, 'Ernst & Ernst GAAP - Stock Life Companies' by Posnak, 'Reports of the Quadrennial Advisory Council on Social Security' by US Government, 'Fundamentals of Private Pensions' by McGill. Digests also included.

Description: The actuarial profession is faced with a problem of determining delta-ized reserves on a basis which will include appropriate provision for adverse deviations in mortality, lapses, interest rates, and expense rates. This paper describes briefly a method which could be used to solve this Followed by papers submitted by 2 authors problem in a flexible manner.