Willis Towers Watson has designed a software product to help general insurers migrate to IFRS 17, a new accounting rule that will bring about significant changes to the way earnings are prepared.

The global broker says ResQ Financial Reporter offers an easy-to-implement and efficient framework to generate financial statements when the new standard comes into force.

“The software essentially takes the complexity out of IFRS 17, so insurers can focus on the core activities that matter most to their business,” Global Product Leader for ResQ Tina Gwilliam said.

She describes the product as one that will help insurers “move through a flexible, intuitive and well-governed audited process that supports the analysis, review, reporting, validation and sensitivity testing required” under the new rule.

Insurers in Australia and globally have asked for more time to prepare for IFRS 17, citing the complexity of the accounting requirement.

IFRS 17 requires all insurance contracts to be accounted for in a consistent manner, making it easier to compare performance across international markets. A new item, “insurance service revenue”, will take the place of premium revenue in profit and loss statements.