| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立政治大學 === 經營管理碩士學程(EMBA) === 94 === Finance and Accounting reports have the function of providing business managers financial information. Through analysis and consolidating of this information the managers may make sound decisions in business operations. A company without sound finance and accounting management usually won’t last for long. Due to its complicated operation methodology, and the great impact to social security, life insurance industry is often under high degree supervisory of government in every country. In Taiwan there is no exclusive insurance accounting principles, as a result, the government supervisory unit and life insurers can’t have a standardized financial reporting to reflect their operation result truly, nor can they effectively achieve supervisory objectives or prevent the potential risks which insurers face.
Developed countries such as U. S. has the Financial Accounting Standards Board, (FASB) raises many times related guidelines of US insurance industry’s accounting principles. For example in 1982 the Board raised FAS 60, and FAS 97, FAS 113 in later days. Such guidelines of insurance accounting principles are sufficient for the business operations needs.
This paper is developed based on the Taiwan life insurance accounting process principles and US related financial accounting guidelines, taking the financial reports of one insurer as example, to calculate the variance under two different sets of accounting regulations. Our finding is, unlike the US accounting system which is based on Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, (GAAP) and Statutory Accounting Principle, (SAP), Taiwan’s life insurance accounting system, underlying assumptions are not clear enough, as well as the concept of adapting Statutory accounting (or supervisory accounting), makes our financial reports not able to present the real operating results of life insurers. As a result our accounting system fails to align with international practices.
This paper suggests that, In Taiwan there are both newly set up insurers and insurers established for long time, while their business models are different, under the complicated insurance. Applying the US accounting principles may improve certain defects, however we must make comprehensive assessment, balance the insurers’ view, consider possible impact, comply with supervisory unit, and feasibility of practice, then implement consistently to obtain the best effects.
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