After almost 20 years of debates, outreach and Exposure Drafts, the IASB has finally published IFRS 17 Insurance Contracts. The new standard will become effective as early as 1.1.2021 and will fundamentally change the way insurance companies present their obligations and their financial performance stemming from insurance contracts. Consequently, IFRS 17 will trigger major implementation projects at all companies affected – and no company can afford to waste time!

Actuaries will play a key role in implementing the new guidance: First, the standard will require many fundamental decisions, which will determine the amount and profile of IFRS results for years to come. Actuaries will be key to prepare decision making by top-management by explaining the options and their consequences. Also, complex measurement models will need to be developed, possibly starting with prototypes providing a starting point for an impact analysis and then gradually developed into audit proof applications.

The output of these models will need to be integrated in the financial reporting processes. Communication with accounting functions will become more intense and more complex – as will be the modelled output.

Accordingly, a strong focus of this seminar is on the accounting framework in which actuaries operate. Past editions of the seminar have been attended and considered useful by both finance and actuarial experts.

Organised by the EAA – European Actuarial Academy GmbH.

This seminar is suited for all interested individuals involved in financial reporting according to IFRS, such as actuaries (or specified accountants, controllers) involved in valuation, controlling, auditing and consulting.

Participants are expected to have general accounting knowledge and a general understanding of IFRS Financial Statements, in particular with respect to the Statement of Comprehensive Income and its components.

During this seminar, you will not need your laptop.

The goal of the 2-day seminar is to provide participants with a comprehensive introduction to the new measurement, presentation and disclosure guidance for insurance contracts. It will cover life and non-life business, including the special guidance on direct participating contracts.

In the seminar, we will first shed a light on the context of accounting for insurance contracts within the IFRS framework and discuss the concepts behind the new model. Main part of the seminar is a comprehensive discussion of the actual guidance.

Overall, the goal is to enable participants to competently interpret the standard and thus prepare for both model development and consultation with management, accounting and auditors.

Stephan Otzen
Stephan Otzen is founder and Managing Partner of Wort & Zahl Unternehmensberatung GmbH, a Hamburg (Germany) based actuarial consulting firm focussed on actuarial accounting and valuation. Stephan has more than 16 years of experience with implementing and auditing of new accounting standards. He began his career at a Big 4 Audit Firm, where he supported various insurance groups with implementing IFRS. Since 2010, he is working as an independent consultant; among his major projects was an IFRS 4, Phase II impact study for a composite insurance group. He has held numerous internal workshops on the topic for both Board / Executive Management level and practitioners on a hands-on basis – including six highly rated IFRS 17 seminars for the EAA in 2016 and 2017.

Stephan is a member of the Accounting Group of the Association of Swiss Actuaries (SAV) and member of the IFRS Working Group for health insurance of the German Actuarial Association (DAV). He has held various public presentations on IFRS 17 on actuarial conferences. He also advised senior staff in a regulatory body regarding the financial statements of insurance companies.