BC290 The Board received mixed feedback as to whether the Amendments to IFRS 4 would result in financial statements that are more useful in assessing the cash flows of an insurer:

(a) many users of financial statements did not support the temporary exemption from IFRS 9 because:

(i) they expected no additional difficulty in their analysis as a result of the additional accounting mismatches and volatility in profit or loss that might arise if IFRS 9 was applied before the forthcoming insurance contracts Standard; and

(ii) they already saw volatility when analysing insurers and were able to make adjustments necessary to understand the financial performance of such insurers.

(b) however, some users expressed concerns about potential additional volatility in profit or loss and supported the overlay approach, the temporary exemption, or both, because reporting such volatility could:

(i) make the financial statements of insurers less understandable and less attractive for investment; and

(ii) make it more difficult to predict long-term economic performance and to forecast earnings based on profit or loss information.