IFRS: Insurers’ 2013 account to pass needle’s eye before approval

 

Chuks Udo Okonta

Insurers’ journey to getting approval for their accounts has commenced with the close of 2013 business. This is even as the pain of getting approval for 2012 financial accounts is still very much on most of them.
Our investigation revealed that underwriters are in for another rounds of trouble as their 2013 quarterly accounts submitted to the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) do not align with the specified template.
It was gathered that the issues identified in the accounts, stemmed from underwriters’ inability to tailor their 2012 accounts with International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) requirements, this therefore, would make it difficult for most operators to meet the June approval deadline.
A source at NAICOM, said underwriters have failed to comply with the regulatory reporting template provided to them, to aid their production of quarterly returns, adding that the operators are yet to come to grip on how to complete the forms.
The source said: “If things are done properly, the first quarter reports are suppose to start with the audited balances of the previous year. But as it stands, some companies are yet to submit their financial statements for the year end. What will they carry over to the quarterly report?
“Again, the alternative is for them to start their first quarter report using the management figure. That means, somewhere along the line, they have to pass some journals to reconcile the opening balances in the management accounts with the audited positions. But, if you ask me whether this is being done correctly, my answer will be no.
“Most of the quarterly returns that are submitted may not be correct. The regulatory reporting template which we issued to the industry, the operators are yet to come to grip on how to complete the forms.
“Looking at some of the quarterly reports submitted, they are not in line with the requirement in that template. The reports are not properly completed and failed to give the required information.”
The source noted that the commission is working hard to address the issues, stressing that NAICOM would to go back to the industry with the approved template for quarterly returns to educate the operators on how to complete the forms.
“Considering the fact that most of the operators had difficulty in getting their 2012 accounts approved, we may allow them to walk back, that is using their approved accounts to prepare the quarterly returns.
“We may discard what they have submitted and use the approved results to produce the quarterly results, so that at the end of 2013 we would have a true reflection of what the quarterly should be,” the source added. 
Though underwriters said their experience over the 2012 accounts would assist in the production of the 2013 financials, NAICOM maintained that there are still a lot to be done to enable the operators master the IFRS.
Group Managing Director, Royal Exchange, Chike Mokwunye, said the company has acquired adept skill that would aid its 2013 accounts. He noted that the firm has taken time to train it workforce.
“To acquire the skill, we did a lot of training and sensitisation. Because IFRS is a management thing, it became compulsory for everybody to be involved in it. IFRS is not the type of account that you just leave the accountants to do.

“The managing director and the managers are all involved in the preparation of the account. So, we are going to build on what we have done. We are not going to start afresh, but build on what we have acquired in making our subsequent accounts ready as expected,” he added.