Putting IFRS in Motion: The impact of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) on the Canadian insurance sector

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More than 100 countries have adopted the use of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) by public companies. The Canadian Accounting Standards Board will require publicly accountable enterprises to adopt IFRS as Canadian generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) for interim and annual financial statements for fiscal years beginning on or after January 1, 2011.

The move to IFRS will fundamentally change the way Canadian insurers report their business results to analysts, investors and other stakeholders.

This publication provides:

• An overview of the Accounting Standards Board’s (AcSB) timeline for the adoption of IFRS;
• An outline of some of the significant accounting differences between Canadian GAAP and IFRS in the insurance sector (including some of the more contentious issues of the proposed components of IFRS 4 Phase II, valuation and measurement of insurance contracts); and
• Insights into the considerations for the adoption of IFRS.