The Convener of FPCCI Standing Committee on Takaful & Window Takaful Mr. Muhammad Kamran Saleem has hailed the decision of IASB to further defer the implementation of IFRS 17 till January 1, 2023 from the previously set implementation date of January 1, 2022 which was originally set at January 1, 2021.
He said that the step will ensure simultaneous and effective implementation IFRS 17 around the globe, which will be beneficial for investors, insurers and other stakeholders to promote quality and comparability of accounting for insurance contracts. This will provide much needed additional time to the Takaful industry in Pakistan to come up with and agree on Takaful-specific issues related to the new standard, which largely remain unaddressed.
He also admired IASB for understanding the global needs and understanding the impediments, especially in the developing countries the insurance industry is facing in timely implementation of IFRS 17. These includes scarcity both of financial resources as they have low budgets and nonfinancial resources i.e. technology and skilled human resources.
He added that the said move was indeed need of the hour owing to the ongoing pandemic ‘COVID 19’ scare, which may cause significant strain on financial and human resources of insurers all over the world.