Implementation of international financial reporting standard 9, financial instruments, in the insurance industry: challenges and solutions

Mirzaei Beirami, R.; Rahmani, A.; Niakan, L.; Mashayekh, S.

doi:10.22056/ijir.2025.01.04

Document Type : Original Research Paper

Authors

¹ Department of Accounting, Faculty of Social Sciences and Economics, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran

² Department of General Studies of Insurance, Iranian Insurance Research center, Tehran, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22056/ijir.2025.01.04

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Insurance companies have significant investment in financial instruments, and a major part of their assets are claims from policyholders and agents, investment in securities and bank deposits. Considering the need for transparency in disclosure of financial assets of insurance companies, the present study identifies the challenges and solutions of implementing the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) No. 9 in the insurance industry.
METHODS: The research is of mixed quantitative and qualitative type. First, by studying the authentic texts, sample financial statements of foreign and domestic insurance companies, and their disclosure checklist, and by comparing them with the financial statements of domestic insurance companies during the years 1398 to 1402 (Persian Calendar), the difference and gap with the current practice in Iran was investigated and based on this, the questionnaire was designed. Questionnaire tool was used to identify challenges in the initial step and interview with experts in the field was used to provide relevant solutions.
FINDINGS: All items related to challenges in the questionnaire were tested and confirmed using the results of one sample T test. Challenges of implementing IFRS 9 were identified in five areas: 1. Measurement and classification, 2. Identification of credit impairment losses, 3. Hedge accounting, 4. Disclosure requirements and 5. General challenges related to financial instruments were identified. Interviews were conducted to provide solutions based on the identified challenges, and finally, using theme analysis method, solutions for overcoming challenges in five areas were extracted from the interview texts.
CONCLUSION: The successful implementation of IFRS 9 in the insurance industry requires unity and cohesion among all stakeholders, including professional societies, insurance companies, supervisory bodies, regulators, etc., so that the presented solutions are used to overcome the identified challenges and help to improve the quality of financial information and transparency in financial reporting of the insurance industry. In other words, the variety of provided solutions by the experts to overcome the identified challenges indicates that the implementation of IFRS 9 in the insurance industry requires the synergy created by the cooperation of different sciences and specialties since in the face of the challenges raised in different fields, the use of diverse and broad expertise will solve the problem. Also, the results of this research, in addition to raising knowledge in the insurance industry, can be used by authorities, supervising insurance companies, accounting standard setters, and the Securities and Exchange Organization of Iran for effective planning.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Insurance Companies Accounting and International Financial Reporting Standards

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Iranian Journal of Insurance Research

Implementation of international financial reporting standard 9, financial instruments, in the insurance industry: challenges and solutions

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Volume 14, Issue 1 - Serial Number 51
December 2025
Pages 49-66

Implementation of international financial reporting standard 9, financial instruments, in the insurance industry: challenges and solutions

References

References

Letters to Editor

Send comment about this article

Volume 14, Issue 1 - Serial Number 51December 2025Pages 49-66

Volume 14, Issue 1 - Serial Number 51
December 2025
Pages 49-66