NAICOM, SEC, NSE extend insurers’ accounts rendition deadline

The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has secured approvals from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) for underwriters to submit their 2018 financial accounts by the end of April 2019, against the statutory March deadline.
 
The move was to further ensure that underwriting companies in the nation’s insurance industry comply with the governing rules of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) 9.
 
The Deputy Commissioner for Insurance, Technical, Sunday Thomas, who made the disclosure in Lagos, said that NAICOM has approached SEC and NSE  to extend the submission date to allow insurance companies tidy their accounts in line with the (IFRS) 9.
 
On efforts made by the commission to have seamless migration from the the IFRS 4 to IFRS 9, Thomas, explained  that the commission having issued the IFRS 9 guidelines, had a meeting with Chief Operating Officers of companies to educate them on the workings of the IFRS 9.
 
He stated that the commission also had one-on-one engagements with the companies to ascertain their level of preparedness, adding that the commission had make the process easy for the underwriters.
 
He posited that IFRS 9 provides significantly improved information because it introduces a structured approach to the classification and measurement of financial assets that reflects the business model in which they are managed and their cash flow characteristics.
 
It also provides for more timely recognition of loan losses as it uses a forward-looking expected credit loss model; and has an improved hedge accounting model that better links the economics of risk management with its accounting treatment, he said. 
 
The Director, Inspectorate, NAICOM, Barineka Thompson, explained that the new accounting format is an improvement on IFRS 4 that was in use, noting that IFRS 9 introduces a new methodology for financial instruments classification and that the incurred loss impairment model is replaced with a more forward looking expected loss model.
 
IFRS 9 Financial Instruments, he added, brings fundamental changes to financial instruments accounting and replaces IAS 39 Financial Instruments.
 
He noted that the commission had yesterday approved the 2018 accounts of four insurance companies which complied with the IFRS 9 guidelines.