IASB provides “interim standards” for insurers

While much of the guidance for insurers under new international accounting standards was to have been applied under phase two, set for 2008, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has released interim standards for insurance contracts.The International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) for insurance contracts is intended to be a stop-gap as the longer process of devising the phase two standards are conceived through consultation.Specifically, the guidelines are meant to meet the European Union’s 2005 deadline to have standards in place. The first phase guidelines deal with disclosure and measurement practices, but is not as comprehensive as the final standards are expected to be.The IASB says a working group will be established to hammer out these comprehensive standards, a process which “may take several years, although the IASB is prepared to accept revisions to the phase one guidelines recommended by the working group.