Description: Discount rate curve construction has been a topic of renewed interest following recent changes in financial reporting standards. Interpolation is a key component of curve construction and can be conducted via an assortment of methods. This article explores six popular interpolation techniques and assesses how they perform with regards to desirable features of such methods: continuity of forwards, stability and locality, simplicity, and market consistency.

Description: The Society of Actuaries Financial Reporting Section is pleased to make available a new report examining the International Standards Board’s (IASB) Re-Exposure draft, Insurance Contracts, issued in June 2013. Performed by Rodrigo Careaga, Tara Hansen, Asad Khalid, and Bruce Rosner of Ernst & Young LLP, this study illustrates differences in earnings emergence for new business projections between current US GAAP and the proposed standard for a sample of 12 products. Additionally, it shows the impact on earnings emergence of various sensitivity tests.

Description: This study is an update of a 2015 study that illustrates the differences that occur when measurement is made under different accounting bases. The observations come from research performed on two products (term life insurance and universal life insurance with secondary guarantees.