Financial Reporting Checklist

Close and Statement Preparation

    Confirm premium, claims, and investment subledgers are closed and reconciled to the GL in PolicyCenter / ClaimCenter / the investment accounting system before opening the close package. Suspense and unapplied cash accounts must be cleared or documented.

    Tie case reserves, IBNR, and ALAE/ULAE to the actuary's reserve indication memo. Variances over the materiality threshold need a documented bridge before booking the booked-vs-indicated entry.

    Post quota share and excess-of-loss cessions per treaty terms, including ceded premium, ceded losses, and ceding commission. Confirm any facultative cessions are reflected and the reinsurance recoverable aging is current.

    Run the standing adjustments: non-admitted assets, DAC, deferred tax, unrealized gains on bonds, and any prepaid expense reclassifications. Statutory and GAAP packages diverge here, so document the bridge in the close binder.

    Generate both the statutory blank pages and the GAAP financial statements from the close package. Roll forward surplus, confirm earned-vs-written premium reconciles, and tie cash flow to the bank reconciliations.

    Walk the trial balance, key ratios (loss ratio, expense ratio, combined ratio), and flux analysis vs. prior quarter. Flag anything outside expected variance for investigation before the package goes to compliance.

Statutory and Regulatory Filings

    Populate Schedule F (reinsurance), Schedule P (loss development), and Schedule D (investments) per NAIC instructions. Cross-check Page 2/3 surplus roll-forward against the GL before signing off.

    Confirm premium tax accruals by state and stamping office filings for any E&S business. Filing windows are tight (commonly 30–60 days post-bind for surplus lines); late filings draw penalties even when the underlying tax is paid on time.

    Check whether any related-party transactions (Form D), extraordinary dividends (Form E), or affiliate changes occurred this period under the Insurance Holding Company System Regulatory Act. Domiciliary state pre-approval lead times can run 30 days.

    Coordinate with general counsel on the filing narrative and supporting agreements. File via the domiciliary DOI's portal and calendar the 30-day non-disapproval clock for Form D transactions.

    Statutory blanks are due within 45 days of quarter-end. File the JURAT page with officer signatures, the data-capture file, and supplemental exhibits. Save the SERFF tracking number to the close binder.

Internal Audit and Controls Review

    Walk through the controls in scope under the NAIC Model Audit Rule: reserve setting, premium recognition, reinsurance, and investment valuation. Sample sizes follow the firm's MAR matrix; document evidence in the audit workpapers.

    For each exception, note the control, the failure mode, the affected balance, and the remediation owner. Aggregate against materiality to determine whether escalation to the audit committee is warranted.

    Prepare the deficiency memo: control description, root cause, financial impact, remediation plan, and timing. Coordinate with the CFO before circulating; material weaknesses may require disclosure in the next statutory filing.

    Distribute the signed audit report to the CFO, controller, and audit committee chair. Track open findings in the audit issues log with target close dates.

Financial Analysis and Forecasting

    Compare loss ratio, expense ratio, and combined ratio to plan and to the prior four quarters by line of business. Drill into any line moving more than 3 points to isolate the driver — frequency, severity, mix, or rate.

    Roll the 12-month forecast forward using the latest written-premium pace, retention ratio, and the actuary's loss pick. Reconcile the forecast surplus walk to the RBC ratio target.

    Pull pricing from the investment custodian, recompute unrealized gains/losses on Schedule D bonds and stocks, and confirm any other-than-temporary impairment (OTTI) flags with the investment committee.

    Run the standing scenarios — 1-in-100 hurricane, 1-in-250 earthquake, and a credit-spread widening case — through the surplus model. Confirm post-event RBC stays above the company action level.

Stakeholder and Board Reporting

    Assemble the standard deck: KPIs, statutory and GAAP statements, ratio trend, reserve adequacy commentary, investment performance, and the forecast walk. Lead with the two or three numbers the board will actually ask about.

    Explain the quarter in plain language: what drove premium, what drove losses, what changed in the reinsurance program, what the rate environment looks like. Avoid restating the numbers — explain them.

    Final review with the CFO before distribution. Capture the digital signature on the cover memo as the audit-trail record of management approval.

    Coordinate with investor relations on the distribution list — board, lead investors, A.M. Best analyst, and reinsurance brokers. Track receipts and follow up on any analyst questions within 48 hours.

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