The IASB issued today their amendments to IFRS 17.
The fundamental principles introduced when the Board first issued IFRS 17 in May 2017 remain unaffected. The amendments, which respond to feedback from stakeholders, are designed to:
- reduce costs by simplifying some requirements in the Standard;
- make financial performance easier to explain; and
- ease transition by deferring the effective date of the Standard to 2023 and by providing additional relief to reduce the effort required when applying IFRS 17 for the first time.
The deferral of the effective date by two years, to annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2023, is intended to allow time for an orderly adoption of the amended IFRS 17 by jurisdictions around the world. This should enable more insurers to implement the new Standard at the same time.