Audit requirementsAudit requirements

Audit requirements

The form relating to authorised insurance entities and reinsurance entities is required to be subject to audit review and testing. The forms relating to the consolidated insurance group reporting unit is not subject to audit review and testing.

The scope and nature of audit testing required is outlined in the applicable Audit Guidance Statement issued by the Auditing and Assurance Board of the Australian Accounting Research Foundation.

Information provided in the form in respect of a financial year of an insurer forms part of the insurer’s ‘yearly statutory accounts’ within the meaning of section 3 of the Insurance Act 1973. This means that:

• the completed form for the financial year must be audited by the approved auditor of the insurer (see paragraph 49J(1)(a) of the Act);

• the insurer must make such arrangements as to enable the auditor to do this (subsection 49J(2));

• the auditor must give the insurer a certificate relating to the completed form (and other completed forms that are part of the insurer’s yearly statutory accounts), which must contain statements of the auditor’s opinion on the matters required by the prudential standards to be dealt with in the certificate (subsection 49J(3));

• the certificate must be lodged with APRA as provided for in the prudential standards (paragraph 49L(1)(a)), namely by the due date for lodging the form in respect of the financial year for the insurer.

Reporting entities

Forms are to be completed for the following reporting entities where appropriate:

1. Branch insurers of a foreign parent insurer (reference to licensed insurer in the form means total operations of the branch, excluding the parent operations);
2. Authorised insurance entities, including mutual entities (reference to licensed insurer in the form means total operations of the licensed entity);
3. Authorised reinsurance entities (reference to licensed insurer in the form means total operations of the licensed entity); and
4. Consolidated insurance groups.

Note: the form for the consolidated insurance group is only required to complete the information requirements on the form. No risk change is applied to the consolidated insurance group at this stage.

For the purposes of APRA prudential reporting, the consolidated insurance group is interpreted as the accounts incorporating the highest parent entity in a group structure, that is an Australian authorised general insurance entity (for the purposes of the Act), and includes all subsidiaries, associates and joint ventures (registered both in Australia and overseas) of that parent entity.