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 paper argues by means of a mathematical demonstration that: 1. Natural reserves are not appropriate for adjusting earnings of mutual life insurance companies under GAAP. 2. Adjusted earnings developed by using statutory net level premium reserves together with a nonadmitted asset equal to the present value of unamortized variable acquisition expenses, and, if material, possibly with the reserves for terminal dividends, should bc accepted under GAAP, provided that dividend scales are suitably designed. 3. Other approaches which are essentially equivalent to that in bullet #2, such as those involving historical asset share funds, should likewise be acceptable.