IFRS 17 may be live, but for many, it has introduced significant complexity and manual activity back into the finance and actuarial functions. First and foremost, successfully implementing, integrating and, most importantly, getting strategic technology solutions compliant has led to a proliferation of tactical manual workarounds.
Further, IFRS 17 has introduced a significant amount of new data which companies collect to produce their financial and performance reporting and the data challenges have been varied. Control frameworks have been another challenging area with existing controls not executed as per their design. Moreover, organisations have aimed to maintain their current working day timetable but are now seeing deterioration and slowdown which are proving unsustainable.
In addition to the above challenges, many business-as-usual (BAU) employees are often not sufficiently trained to run the new processes.
Insurers can be specific and purposeful in addressing challenges to drive strategic initiatives with these next steps:
Complete a post-FY23 reporting review that will help develop a realistic remediation plan.
Improve data integrity and alignment, unlocking the value of cloud and data.
Reflect on the quality and effectiveness of controls to critically inform how to improve the accuracy, efficiency and audit.
Assess new capabilities by reviewing technological capabilities and further review the finance structure, including roles and responsibilities to optimise processes and address the scarcity of resources.
With efficiency and cost in the spotlight, focusing remediation efforts in these five areas, alongside our recommended steps, can stop complexity from spiralling. For deeper insight on these steps, read the following article by Brian O’Loughlin, Finance Consulting Director at PwC United Kingdom.
Cassidy Turner, Assurance Associate, contributed to this Short Read.
How can we help?
To make the most of these challenges, we can help organisations look beyond the traditional boundaries of the insurance business to embrace new ways of working. For more information, please reach out to our sector leaders below.
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