In June 2005 the ASB issued its Report to the Treasury on Financial Reporting for Life Assurance. This report, together with FRS 27 ‘Life Assurance’ issued in December 2004, completed the ASB’s project in response to a request from the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, in March 2004, for a study into accounting for with-profits business by life assurers. The report summarised the needs of different users of financial statements of life assurance entities, and the improvements introduced by FRS 27 to meet those needs. It also analysed key areas where further improvements could be made, including the measurement of liabilities, profit recognition, the distinction between equity and liabilities, and the role of embedded value methods. The report concludes that these complex issues, that could not be addressed in the timescale available for the development of FRS 27, are best considered in the wider context of international insurance accounting that is being addressed by the IASB’s project. The Board will continue to monitor and give input to this wider IASB project.

In May 2007 the IASB issued a discussion paper ‘Preliminary Views on Insurance Contracts’, open for comment until 16 November 2007. The ASB has issued a Briefing Paper on the wider implications of the IASB’s proposals as well as a brief summary of the proposals.

Contact  Project Director: Simon Peerless