Practice

Finance Modernisation

Faster valuations, fewer overlays, defensible assumptions and a finance close that doesn’t have to wait for a hand-reconciled actuarial number.

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Finance Modernisation Top: a five-step actuarial-to-finance pipeline with the integration step highlighted in bright red as where the work happens. Bottom: a single focused days-reduction visualisation. A long muted bar represents the current close cycle; a shorter solid burgundy bar below it represents the modernised close; the difference between the two is filled with a bold bright-red block labelled DAYS RECLAIMED, with three small captions naming where the days come from — overlays migrated, reconciliation automated, pack assembly automated. ACTUARIAL → FINANCE · ONE WORKFLOW model run movements A → F INTEGRATION auto-pack disclose DAYS OFF THE CLOSE · EVERY CLOSE BEFORE current close AFTER modernised close DAYS RECLAIMED FROM overlays governed recon automated pack automated Finance Modernisation Top: a five-step actuarial-to-finance pipeline with the integration step highlighted in bright red as where the work happens. Bottom: a single focused days-reduction visualisation. A long muted bar represents the current close cycle; a shorter solid burgundy bar below it represents the modernised close; the difference between the two is filled with a bold bright-red block labelled DAYS RECLAIMED, with three small captions naming where the days come from — overlays migrated, reconciliation automated, pack assembly automated. ACTUARIAL → FINANCE · ONE WORKFLOW model run movements A → F INTEGRATION auto-pack disclose DAYS OFF THE CLOSE · EVERY CLOSE BEFORE current close AFTER modernised close DAYS RECLAIMED FROM overlays governed recon automated pack automated

Practice signals 1 / 3

Compress the close carefully

Shorter cycles come from clearer handoffs, controlled assumptions and fewer manual overlays.

Who this is for

Chief actuaries, statutory actuaries, heads of actuarial reporting, IFRS 17 leads, CFOs and finance directors with actuarial dependencies, heads of financial reporting and finance-actuarial transformation owners — at life, health, general, reinsurance and group businesses.

Where we help

The model works. The work around it does not. Closes drift longer. Overlays accumulate. Assumptions live in someone's drive. Reconciliations between actuarial and finance are repeated every quarter, by different people, from different sources. Movement-analysis numbers are rebuilt by hand each cycle. Disclosure packs are assembled in slides. Documentation lags behind the reality. The risk that a number cannot be explained — to an auditor, a regulator or the audit committee — is rising every cycle.

What we do

  • Reserving and valuation modernisation. Replace the spreadsheet-and-overlay layer around the actuarial engines you already operate with versioned, lineage-tracked, instrumented pipelines.
  • IFRS 17 — operate and improve. Beyond the initial implementation: close-cycle compression measured in days off your reporting timeline, automated CSM movement and waterfall, variance and reason-code analysis, and clean integration into finance close.
  • Embedded value, VNB and shareholder reporting. EV, VNB, sensitivities and stress-test packages operationalised as governed outputs, not reconstructed each cycle.
  • Assumptions management. Versioned, owned, reviewable assumptions across products, reporting bases and entities — with workflow, approvals and reason-for-change capture, governed by the same engine that drives reporting.
  • Experience studies. Mortality, lapse, expense, behavioural and morbidity studies industrialised as repeatable, governed workflows.
  • Actuarial-to-finance integration. Sub-ledger feeds, GL postings, reconciliation, movement analysis and disclosure pack assembly — designed as one workflow rather than two functions meeting in the middle each cycle.
  • Movement analysis and disclosure automation. CSM rolls, IFRS 17 movement reasons, IFRS 9 ECL movement and SAM technical-provision movements — reproduced from data, not retyped from prior packs.
  • Model conversion and migration. Legacy spreadsheet and proprietary-language models migrated into governed, version-controlled workflows, with end-to-end regression testing against the prior estate.
  • Statutory, IFRS 17, SAM and board reporting. Pack assembly from one governed source, with full lineage from raw exposure to disclosed number.
  • Documentation and model risk management. Model documentation, methodology notes and approval trails to a standard that satisfies PRA, Prudential Authority and SR 11-7-style review.
  • Target operating model design. Future-state operating models for the actuarial and actuarial-finance teams — workflow, controls, roles and the data plumbing that make the new estate run sustainably.
Days off the IFRS 17 close — actuarial and finance, one workflow A before/after comparison showing that modernising the actuarial and finance close cuts the reporting timeline by a number of days every cycle. The BEFORE pipeline runs the full width, with two bright-red blocks marking the manual pain points: overlays and reconciliation, and pack assembly. The AFTER pipeline is visibly shorter; the manual blocks are replaced by smaller automated steps. The visual gap between where the BEFORE pipeline ends and where the AFTER pipeline ends is filled with a single large bright-red callout labelled DAYS RECLAIMED, with a dashed delta indicator above and a horizontal arrow below showing the magnitude of the saving. Below the comparison, three cards explain where the days come from: manual reconciliations replaced by versioned pipelines, pack assembly automated end-to-end, and overlays migrated into a governed Symphony Assumptions workflow. CLOSE-CYCLE COMPRESSION · TYPICAL LIFE INSURER Days off the close. Every close. DAYS RECLAIMED BEFORE Current close Run model Movements Manual overlays & reconciliation multiple days, every cycle Pack assembly slide-built, every cycle Sign-off Disclose AFTER Modernised close Run model Movements Auto-reconcile AUTOMATED Auto-pack AUTOMATED Sign-off Disclose Days reclaimed every reporting cycle WHERE THE DAYS COME FROM Manual reconciliations replaced by versioned, instrumented pipelines - days back into the close. Pack assembly automated end-to-end with full lineage - more days back into the close. Overlays migrated into Symphony Assumptions - one more bite out of the cycle. Days off the IFRS 17 close — actuarial and finance, one workflow A before/after comparison showing that modernising the actuarial and finance close cuts the reporting timeline by a number of days every cycle. The BEFORE pipeline runs the full width, with two bright-red blocks marking the manual pain points: overlays and reconciliation, and pack assembly. The AFTER pipeline is visibly shorter; the manual blocks are replaced by smaller automated steps. The visual gap between where the BEFORE pipeline ends and where the AFTER pipeline ends is filled with a single large bright-red callout labelled DAYS RECLAIMED, with a dashed delta indicator above and a horizontal arrow below showing the magnitude of the saving. Below the comparison, three cards explain where the days come from: manual reconciliations replaced by versioned pipelines, pack assembly automated end-to-end, and overlays migrated into a governed Symphony Assumptions workflow. CLOSE-CYCLE COMPRESSION · TYPICAL LIFE INSURER Days off the close. Every close. DAYS RECLAIMED BEFORE Current close Run model Movements Manual overlays & reconciliation multiple days, every cycle Pack assembly slide-built, every cycle Sign-off Disclose AFTER Modernised close Run model Movements Auto-reconcile AUTOMATED Auto-pack AUTOMATED Sign-off Disclose Days reclaimed every reporting cycle WHERE THE DAYS COME FROM Manual reconciliations replaced by versioned, instrumented pipelines - days back into the close. Pack assembly automated end-to-end with full lineage - more days back into the close. Overlays migrated into Symphony Assumptions - one more bite out of the cycle.

Diagram signals 1 / 3

Compress the close carefully

Shorter cycles come from clearer handoffs, controlled assumptions and fewer manual overlays. The body diagram should make this route explicit enough to discuss in a working session.

Days off the IFRS 17 close — actuarial and finance, one workflow.

Where we fit

We sit between your modelling engine, your finance close and your reporting layer. We do not replace your actuarial engine, and we do not own your GL. We modernise the work that connects them.

Outcomes

  • Days off the close, every close — not a close that lengthens.
  • A finance close that does not have to wait for a hand-reconciled actuarial number.
  • Movement and variance analysis that reproduces six months later, from the same data.
  • A defensible, auditable assumptions estate.
  • Clear ownership of every number, from raw input to disclosed figure.
  • Documentation built for external review.

Engagement model

We typically start with a 4 to 8 week Actuarial and Finance Operating Layer Assessment. The output is a prioritised modernisation plan with effort, sequencing and expected cycle-time impact across actuarial close, finance close and disclosure. Implementation work is then delivered in 8 to 16 week increments, often supported by Symphony Modelling Platform, Symphony Assumptions and Symphony Reporting.

Related software

Symphony Modelling PlatformSymphony AssumptionsSymphony ReportingModelling and Validation

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