Standard Setting Leadership

The establishment of accounting principles and financial statement disclosures for insurance companies has historically been the province of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). The FASB and AICPA have dealt with measurements under generally accepted accounting principles, whereas the NAIC has dealt with the development and use of what is referred to as statutory accounting principles.

Since the late 1980s, Veris executives have been actively involved in the standard-setting process by, among other things, serving on the AICPA’s Insurance Companies Committee, Accounting Standards Executive Committee, Insurance Liaison Task Force and, most recently, its Insurance Expert Panel.

Our executives have also served as chairpersons or members of a variety of task forces, including those that have issued the authoritative guidance dealing with the audit of property and casualty insurance company loss reserves, the accounting for reinsurance arrangements that do not transfer risk and the application of generally accepted accounting principles to mutual life insurance companies. Experience of our executives has also included technical positions at the AICPA and the Independence Standards Board.

Our commitment to participation in the standard-setting process continues today through our active role in the AICPA and its liaison with the NAIC. When our clients consult with us or engage us as experts in connection with financial reporting issues, they do not receive an interpretation of what someone else thought, meant or wrote. Rather, our advice comes from having been actively involved in the development of the principles that govern that financial reporting.