IFRS 17: The Variable Fee Approach – Basics and Challenges

The IASB issued 2017 the new comprehensive insurance accounting standard IFRS 17, with amendments issued in 2020. In addition to its general model, IFRS 17 introduces a modified approach, usually referred to as Variable Fee Approach (VFA), for a specific class of participating insurance contracts. Both the identification of such contracts and the application of the approach require a number of accounting decisions based on interpretations of the sophisticated criteria provided by IFRS 17.