Case study: IFRS 17 full implementation project

The new IFRS 17 accounting standard which changes recognition, measurement and accounting principles for insurance liabilities, will be applicable from 1 January 2022. In order to implement the standard, the insurance subsidiary of a French banking group requested the support of a consulting firm to bring expertise in financial transformation including project management, actuarial modeling, financial reporting and this new standard.

CHALLENGE

The biggest challenges for the insurer are both methodological and operational :

Defining accounting and actuarial methodologies, while discussions on the standard are still on-going, and anticipating the financial impacts
Leveraging and adapting existing Solvency 2 cash-flow tools
Designing and implementing an IFRS 17 solution
Optimising the fast close process in order to meet tight reporting deadlines and allow time for analysis

SOLUTION

For this 3-year project, Mazars selected a multidisciplinary team composed of financial reporting experts, actuarial consultants and financial consultants to provide project coordination, methodology support, actuarial support, financial process adaptation and tool implementation. Working side by side with the customer Project Lead, an experienced PMO is responsible for ensuring overall coordination and the delivery of all workstreams.

IMPACT

By the end of the assignment in 2021, the insurer will have efficient and secured processes and tools to produce on-time financial reporting. The client should also have a thorough understanding of the standard and be able to anticipate impacts on Financial reporting to manage the performance.