Putting your reporting on track
How we can help you to present a clear and compelling case for investment.
The share performance of most insurers continues to be disappointing. While this is principally a reflection of economic uncertainty and market volatility, confusing market reporting has also played a part by making it difficult for analysts and investors to judge the company strategy and discern the true value being created within the business. Investors’ underlying concern is that disjointed disclosures may be symptomatic of poor management information and a lack of strategic coherence.
The planned new IFRS insurance standard (IFRS Phase II) will bring welcome standardisation across insurers' market reporting. But it will have important implications for product design, the trajectory of earnings and how your business is judged by analysts and investors.
A key focus of the continuing debate within Europe over IFRS for insurance contracts is how closely the basis of measurement will correspond to Solvency II. Alignment between IFRS and Solvency II would open up valuable synergies in data management, modelling and investor relations and enable companies to avoid the expense and disruption of 'digging up the road twice'.
We can help your business to sharpen its financial reporting. This includes developing a better understanding of analyst expectations, conveying a more coherent statement of your strategic direction to investors and providing them with the telling information they need to track and rate progress.
We recognise that the complex nature and long-term duration of life insurance business demands a ‘dashboard’ of multiple measures rather than a single measure.
We can help you to identify and refine the particular metrics that best reflect the value being created within your business and provide a clear link between value, cash, capital and risk.
In turn, corporate insurers and reinsurers are finding it difficult to stand out from a largely undifferentiated pack. We can help you to develop and communicate a differentiated strategy that plays to your company strengths.
Over the last decade, the price/earnings and price/book ratios of many European insurers have fallen to low and undifferentiated levels, and many stock prices have become excessively driven by short-term macro issues. While the main factor behind this has been the exceptionally challenging market and economic backdrop, seemingly unconnected disclosures and reporting bases have been a major contributory factor.
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The original timetable has been put back to allow more time to secure a consensus on outstanding issues including how to address potential earnings volatility.
Full convergence between IFRS and US GAAP insurance accounting now seems unlikely, though there will be a number of common features in the new standards.
Early adoption
The revised exposure draft on accounting for insurance contracts has been issued in June 2013, ahead of the likely publication of a finalised standard late 2014 or early 2015. While your business would then have approximately three years to implement the new standard, early adoption would be possible.
One of the key considerations is therefore whether to bring the timetables for IFRS Phase II and Solvency II Pillar 3 implementation into line within your business as far as is possible to avoid digging up the road more than once. The added benefit would be to bring a relatively early end to a period of substantial financial reporting change and disruption and allow you to focus on the core business.
New ‘language’
It will also be important to consider whether the returns on products being written now could change once IFRS Phase II and Solvency II go through.
The underlying challenge is how to look at the business when the ‘language’ of management information and criteria for judging performance are set for so much change and potential complication. How will this affect the way you make decisions and are frontline teams ready for the ramifications?
PwC opinion
General insurers should not ignore IFRS 4 Phase II
October 26, 2015
General insurers have yet to begin to consider the implications of the new standard in order to avoid late surprises.
July 29, 2015
IFRS 9 for Financial Instruments is coming in 2018, are you prepared for its impact on your business?
Bringing IFRS and Solvency II together
November 08, 2012
Keep up with insurance regulation. Solvency II and IFRS overlap so save money and time by doing things once, and improve your market reporting.
