Leading the way: Early IFRS 17 adoption boosts trust, speed and agility in a dynamic market

Established in 1930, Malayan Insurance is one of the largest non-life insurers in the Philippines, operating a wide-reaching network of over 30 branches and service offices nationwide. The company offers a diverse range of insurance products, including coverage for home, travel, personal accidents, marine and motorcycles.

Malayan Insurance is renowned for its forward-thinking approach, emphasizing innovation, service excellence and robust corporate governance. Reflecting this ethos, the company set out to be IFRS 17-compliant ahead of the originally scheduled implementation of the international financial reporting standard in the Philippines on Jan. 1, 2025, which was later postponed to Jan. 1, 2027.

“Even though the deadline was extended locally, we chose to stay the course,” says Frederick Pineda, Senior Vice President and CFO of Malayan Insurance. “This wasn’t just about compliance – it was about doing things right, setting the tone for the future, and aligning ourselves with international best practices.”

This commitment, combined with the support of SAS, led to Malayan Insurance being the first among only a few insurers in the Philippines who met the original deadline.

“We’re proud to say that Malayan Insurance is now one of the first insurers in the Philippines to be IFRS 17-ready – well ahead of the 2027 deadline,” Pineda says. “Implementing the SAS Solution for IFRS 17 positions us as a forward-looking organization and an industry trailblazer. It will strengthen our brand and enhance our credibility in discussions with regulators.”

Strong commitment to being the first mover

Malayan Insurance selected the SAS Solution for IFRS 17 deployed with SAS Managed Cloud Services after a thorough evaluation of multiple platforms. Key selection criteria included model flexibility, auditability, system performance and strong post-implementation support.

Malayan Insurance was aware that committing to the original timeline would be an opportunity to strategically futureproof its financial reporting and solidify its position as a leader in the non-life insurance space.

However, implementing IFRS 17 was a significant undertaking that involved multiple teams across the company. SAS’ solution helped facilitate cross-functional collaboration among the Finance, Actuarial, Underwriting and IT teams.

Doing this manually would have set the project up for failure. Complying with the IFRS 17 standard then required a complete overhaul of legacy data structures and processes to generate expected cash flows, calculate the Contractual Service Margin (CSM), and create audit-ready financial reports.

“One of the most complex parts of the project was retrieving and preparing historic data,” Pineda explains. “We had to work with policies dating back to 2018, which required us to revisit systems and sources that weren’t designed with IFRS 17 in mind.”

The Malayan team also needed to develop a robust methodology to calculate cashflows, the CSM and generate compliant journal entries. Manual methods would have been insufficient and unsustainable.

Strong partnership for precision and transparency

Malayan Insurance selected the SAS Solution for IFRS 17 after a thorough evaluation of multiple platforms. Key selection criteria included model flexibility, auditability, system performance and strong post-implementation support.

“We needed a system that could offer detailed traceability – from the raw data to the final figures,” Pineda says. “SAS stood out and ticked all the boxes due to its rich functionality, cost-effective implementation and strong support. It gave us that transparency and confidence, especially as we worked through our user acceptance testing.”

SAS’ platform enabled the finance and actuarial teams to work from a single source of truth, improving coordination and clarity throughout the implementation. SAS partner Financial Risk Group (FRG) played a key role in supporting the team with calibration, model setup and iterative testing.

“SAS and FRG were with us every step of the way,” says Pineda. “Whenever we encountered issues, they were quick to engage and help us resolve them. That level of support made a real difference.”

High-quality, auditable figures in a fraction of the time

With the SAS solution in place, Malayan Insurance met the full requirements of IFRS 17 two years ahead schedule. The new system delivers high-quality data outputs, with streamlined reporting that is faster and more accurate than manual processes.

“With SAS, we can produce IFRS 17 figures in under 30 minutes – with clear, auditable outputs we can stand behind,” says Pineda. The implementation has also strengthened collaboration between teams and set the stage for future data-driven decision making.

“This started out as an accounting project, but we’re pleased with the added value we’re getting from our SAS solution,” Pineda adds. “The insights we now have will help us make more informed decisions.”

Regulatory compliance becomes springboard for business advantage

With SAS, Malayan Insurance has achieved more than regulatory compliance – it has built a platform for faster, smarter financial reporting, with full audit trails and greater insights into the financial impact of its portfolios to enable strategic planning and more informed decision making.

The success of the project has reshaped how finance, actuarial and IT teams work together, creating a more integrated and agile organization.

“This project has shifted our mindset,” Pineda concludes. “IFRS 17 was the catalyst, but the real value is in how we now use data to drive the business.”