Insurance Europe aisbl : Building a stronger foundation for international financial reporting standards

Building a stronger foundation for international financial reporting standards

Insurance Europe supports the efforts undertaken by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) to update its conceptual framework, setting out the concepts that underlie the preparation and presentation of financial statements. These concepts will be used by the IASB when it develops or revises standards.

In a joint response to the IASB's discussion paper, Insurance Europe stresses that the business model should be part of the revised framework, as it plays a significant role in financial reporting. It calls for flexibility to appropriately reflect the long-term nature and the asset-liability management that are fundamental to the insurance business model.

Insurance Europe also underlines the importance of the use of the other comprehensive income (OCI) for reporting changes in market interest rates on both insurance liabilities and related assets. To avoid unintended scope restrictions, it suggests that the IASB should focus on general principles for profit and loss and OCI reporting.