Funa delays IFRS 17

Joshua Lao · Jan 28, 2019, 8:00 AM

The mandatory disclosure on the significance of financial instruments held by insurers under the latest edition of the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS 17) has been pushed back five years to 1 January 2023 instead of the original deadline of 1 January 2021.

Local insurers who are willing and ready to comply with IFRS 17 before the deferred effectivity date are not precluded from implementing the same.

This was learned from Insurance Commissioner Dennis Funa on Monday when he said the adjustment date under IFRS 17 Insurance Contracts for both life and non-life insurance companies has been deferred.

FUNA He also said the deferment grants an additional one-year period from the date of effectivity proposed by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB).

“The implementation of IFRS 17 was bombarded by challenges such as tight timeline, determination of model, lack of clarity, resources and expertise, tight budget, report and disclosure and lack of IT infrastructure,” the IC said.

Funa explained there is a need for the additional time buffer to the IASB’s proposal to prepare for the IFRS 17 implementation citing the varying implementation periods of other countries.

“In the case of India, they will have an early adoption of IFRS beginning either year 2020 or 2021. Malaysia, on the other hand, will adopt it on 2021 but subject to the development of IASB. In fact, only Thailand intends to comply with IFRS 17 based on the deferred date proposed by the IASB,” the Insurance chief said.

“Other countries such as China, Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, Taiwan and United Arab Emirates are still assessing the feasibility of implementing IFRS 17,” he added.

According to Funa, local insurers who are willing and ready to comply with IFRS 17 before the deferred effectivity date are not precluded from implementing the same.

Pre-need companies, health maintenance organizations and mutual benefit associations are to comply with the current accounting standards until required by the IC to comply with IFRS 17.