In a bid to beat the December 2012 deadline set for their transition to the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS), insurance companies are individually coughing out over N10 million as consultancy charge to consultants which they have engaged to assist them in their transition to the new reporting format.

Although the National Insurance Commission, NAICOM, agreed that transition to IFRS is very challenging to insurers in terms of resources and time limit, the Commission gave kudos to operators for being in the forefront of sectors that will beat the deadline.

The Commission however warned that abandoning the whole process to consultants will not be in the best interest of insurance operators, stressing that operators need to understand the workings of IFRS properly.

NAICOM’s Acting Director, Supervision, Mr. Nicholas Opara enthused that as far as IFRS is concerned insurance operators are making concrete efforts to ensure that their transition is hitch-free.

Opara affirmed that the commission sees conversion to the new financial standards in line with directives issued by the Federal Government as a mission that must be accomplished within the record time. “We have gone through the sensitisation programme and have since started the real thing.  We have done everything necessary in this regard and be that as it may, we see it as a mission that will be accomplished,” he said.

On the other hand, Mr. George Onekhena, Deputy Commissioner Finance & Accounts of NAICOM stressed that any insurance company waiting for consultants to handle in entirety their IFRS transition lack direction.

According to him, “Any management team of an insurance company waiting for a consultant to do their IFRS job for them has already failed because you need to understand it first as an operator. Many leadership of insurance companies are not taking the IFRS seriously rather they are taking it as an accountant stuff. When they will be hit, they will then take it seriously.”