PWC AND ORACLE
P & C continue to present opportunities and challenges for CFO organisations to concentrate on improving their financial planning and analysis ( FP & A ) capabilities .
“ Let ’ s consider the COVID-19 pandemic , for example . The actuarial tables that life insurers use have not been adjusted in a substantial way since the 1918 flu pandemic . From a forward-looking perspective , that ’ s going to have a substantial impact on the metric drivers that insurers would use as we think about the FP & A landscape . Analytics in insurance : A priority for CFOs In Maher ’ s view , these macro factors and other market indicators in insurance make it a priority for CFOs to be better ‘ partners ’ to the business .
He expands : “ Today insurance CFOs are focused on better informing decisionmaking . They do so by providing CEOs and business partners with critical financial insights , timely access to information , and both internal and external information to understand the profitability of products . Moreover , the demand for forward-looking analytics and the ability to model different scenarios is at an all-time high .
“ At PwC , we meet daily with CFOs of some of the world ’ s largest insurance companies . In our conversations with life and annuities companies , we emphasise the source of earnings , asking : ‘ What are the drivers of earnings - whether it ’ s the underwriting performance , expense management , investment performance , or other financial and non-financial factors ?’ Looking forward , the next question is : ‘ How is excess capital best allocated ?’
“ At P & C companies , climate change is making underwriting more difficult ,” Maher continues . “ In certain parts of the world , it ’ s
BRETT MAHER
TITLE : PRINCIPAL AND US LEAD FOR FINANCE TRANSFORMATION FOR INSURANCE AND FINANCIAL SERVICES
COMPANY : PWC
Maher is dedicated to helping organisations improve their finance operating models , leading to increases in efficiency and effectiveness . They benefit from Maher ’ s 30 years of finance and consulting experience . Drawing from a combination of global and domestic experience at insurance companies , banks , investment firms , he has been with PwC for more than 18 years and serves as the US Finance Transformation Leader for Insurance and Financial Services .
hard to get insurance companies to answer the phone and underwrite your risk depending on the required coverage and location . P & C companies rely on crucial business insights to make those decisions , and we ’ re working with clients to wrangle that data and make it available so that both actuaries and finance teams have the information they need .”
The role of CFOs is also to work with P & C business lines to focus on forward-looking scenarios , modeling different outcomes and understanding the impact of potential risks that may not be present today but will be in the future . fintechmagazine . com 53