We provide a range of services to our valued business partners across the globe including Europe,
the Middle East, South East Asia and the Far East. Our specialty services include actuarial
valuations, financial reporting, product and business development and enterprise risk management. In
addition, our firm provides actuarial personnel
outsourcing for allowing organizations to engage in full-time actuarial services for long-term cost
effectiveness.

The new accountinf regime for insurance contracts, IFRS 17, will require all companies that issues insurance contracts to account for all insurance contracts in a way that provides:

IFRS has already been adopted in Middle Eastern countries (including UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and others), Asian countries (including Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Hong Kong and others) and across other regions. This new financial semantic, IFRS 17, delivers consistency in the financial reporting for a sector that has never had it. IFRS 17 will introduce a significant degree of transparency that aims to open what many considered an accounting and actuarial black box.

IFRS 17 also outlines a comprehensive framework that will require insurers to provide information relevant to users of financial statements for economic decision making. All countries that follow existing IFRS will be required to adopt IFRS 17. Most expect the exercise to be wide-ranging, complex and costly. Therefore early planning is recommended for both life and general insurance companies, with more detailed requirements for life insurers.

If you happen to work for an insurer and your nature of work relates to preparing, reporting, analysing, reviewing, estimating or presenting the assets, liabilities or equities in the financial statements, the IFRS 17 financial semantic will impact you. The existing IFRS 4 will no longer remain effective from 2021 and therefore IFRS 17 will have to be followed.

The implementation of IFRS 17 will have a major impact across the entire financial management framework, requiring changes to be made to key areas of strategic financial management and operations in the way the results will be delivered.

IFRS 17 will also have a significant impact on data, systems and processes used to prepare the financial reporting framework.

IFRS 17 provides insurers with general principles and flexibility on its implementation. Therefore, the choices that the insurer makes will impact how profits are released over the life of a contract.

The impact to insurance organizations, whether subsidiaries/branches of international insurers or domestic insurers, are significant given that many countries have adopted IFRS and therefore would need to comply with the new reporting requirements of IFRS 17.

Although IFRS 17 requires involvement from various functions of insurance companies such as Finance, IT, Internal Auditor and others, the role of Actuaries will be significantly increased. IFRS 17 requires significant actuarial involvement and both External Auditors and Actuaries need to work together for the successful adoption of IFRS 17.

CEOs, CFOs, Audit Committee members, internal and external auditors, accounting and finance professionals, actuaries, regulators and all discerning individuals who wish to understand how the new reporting standard will impact them.

IFRS 17 outlines the general principles of insurance contract reporting. It however, allows flexibility with regards to its transition and implementation with each phase involving significant judgment that would need to be made. Our firm has the knowledge as well as the experience to help companies not only apply best practices but also avoid the eventual problems that they may face when adopting IFRS 17.

IFRS 17 will require the company’s IT, finance, accountants and actuaries to work together to modify and/or restructure its existing systems. Our firm can help provide the technical support necessary to make the transition as smooth as possible.

SHMA Consulting, is a company registered in the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) United Arab Emirates, provides actuarial and insurance advisory services to insurance companies, takaful operators and other organizations operating retirement and pension funds. We have a team of over 45 actuarial professionals including 10 qualified actuaries.

Our Insurance and Takaful practice provides services to companies located in Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait and other countries. Our diverse teams work closely with our clients to identify and address the challenges faced by our clients. Our expertise encompass actuarial valuations in accordance with both local standards and International Financial Reporting Standards (lFRS), statutory certifications and reporting, product development and pricing, enterprise risk management and capital modeling, reinsurance and investment advisory, business planning and capital appraisals.

We can be reached at:
Email: info@shmaconsulting.com