L-R: Kenneth Egwu, Deputy Director, Inspectorate, National Insurance Commission (NAICOM); Barineka Thompson, Director Inspectorate; Olorundare Sunday Thomas, Deputy Commissioner-Technical and Rasaaq Salami, Deputy Director, Corporate Affairs, during NAICOM interactive session with media on International Financial Reporting Standard 9 (IFRS 9) in Lagos on Tuesday.
BY NKECHI NAECHE–—National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) on Tuesday said it has gotten endorsement from two key regulators in the Nigerian capital market 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 as against the statutory March deadline.
Sunday Thomas, Deputy Commissioner for Insurance, Technical, disclosed this during a seminar with the media that the commission approached the both regulators to extend the submission date to allow insurance companies tidy their accounts in line with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) 9.
He said IFRS 9 provides significantly improved information because it introduce 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.
Director, Inspectorate, NAICOM, Barineka Thompson, said the new accounting format is an improvement on IFRS 4 that was in use before now, 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.
He also disclosed that the commission yesterday approved the 2018 accounts of four insurance companies which complied with the IFRS 9 guidelines.