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August 29, 2011 at 08:00 PM
The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) is seeking comments on how it should handle insurers, and investment-linked insurance funds, in a revision of investment entity accounting rules.
IASB, London, mentions insurers briefly in an exposure draft version of an Investment Entities document.
IASB, a group that sets accounting standards outside the United States, and the U.S. standards setter, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), Norwalk, Conn., are trying to fine-tune the rules that govern when public companies must consolidate investment performance with other results and when companies must break out investment results separately.
IASB has adopted International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) 10 Consolidated Financial Statements to require consolidation in most cases, to keep companies from hiding investment performance off their balance sheets.
Now IASB is working on an exemption for investment entities because of reports that investors want to see investment entities break out the performance of their investments.
FASB is working on a draft that will cover similar questions, IASB officials say.
IASB officials note in an explanation of the exposure draft that they are trying to keep companies from using captive investment entities to carry out off-balance-sheet by imposing some restrictions.
