
RSA
Ann
ua
l Rep
or
t a
nd Ac
co
unt
s 2021
St
r
at
eg
ic
Re
po
r
t G
over
n
an
ce
Financials
Valuation of deferred
tax assets
(2021: £146 million of
the total deferred tax
assets of £148 million;
2020: £181 million of
£199 million)
Refer to page 47
(financial disclosures).
Forecast-based assessment:
The recoverability of the recognised deferred
tax asset is dependent on the future profitability
of the UK business, in particular Royal & Sun
Alliance Insurance Limited, as the taxable legal
entity. There is inherent uncertainty involved in
developing the Group’s operational plan upon
which forecast future taxable profits are based
and further judgement in assessing to what
extent the deferred tax assets can be recovered
against those forecast taxable profits, particularly
following the acquisition transaction of the Group.
These forecasts determine the extent to which
deferred tax assets are or are not recognised in
the financial statements.
The effect of these matters is that, as part of
our risk assessment, we determined that the
recoverable amount of deferred tax assets has
a high degree of estimation uncertainty, with a
potential range of reasonable outcomes greater
than our materiality for the financial statements
as a whole. The financial statements (note 31)
disclose the sensitivity estimated by the Group.
Our procedures included:
·
Historical comparisons:
We assessed the accuracy of the Group’s
approved operating plan in relation to the forecasting process in the
past. We considered whether projected margins are achievable in
light of the acquisition and with reference to the business’ recent
performance and operating plans.
·
Our experience:
We assessed the Group’s approach to the
assessment of recoverability and challenged the approach with
reference to our understanding of the business and the requirements
of the relevant accounting standards.
·
Sensitivity analysis:
We carried out independent sensitivity analyses
of taxable profits to assumptions such as expected weather losses,
the development of claims reserves and claims inflation, projected
future growth rates and improvements in operating margins, future
investment returns, and the projection period used for the forecast
taxable profits.
·
Our tax expertise:
With the support of our own tax specialists and
their knowledge of tax legislation, we also assessed the extent to which
projected profits were taxable, in particular the Group’s assumptions
about how accumulated tax losses and other similar items can be
utilised within the Group against the UK business, and Royal & Sun
Alliance Insurance Limited as the taxable legal entity, in particular.
·
Assessing transparency:
We assessed the adequacy of the
Group’s disclosures in respect of the assumptions applied in
the calculation and the adequacy of the Group’s disclosures in
respect of the sensitivity of the valuation of the deferred tax asset
to key assumptions.
We performed the tests above rather than seeking to rely on any of the
Group’s controls because the nature of the balance is such that we
would expect to obtain audit evidence primarily through the detailed
procedures described.
Our results
As a result of our work, we found the level of deferred tax assets
recognised to be acceptable (2020 result: acceptable).
parent company’s
investment in
subsidiaries
(2021: £2,405 million;
2020: £6,276 million)
Refer to page 120
(accounting policy,
Investments in
page 122 (financial
disclosures).
The carrying amount of the parent company’s
investments in subsidiaries represents 63%
(2020: 71%) of the company’s total assets.
Fair value for the key operating subsidiaries is
calculated by applying the income approach
which uses discounted cash flow models to
assess the present value of expected future
economic benefits. Key assumptions include
the discount rate and cash flows.
The effect of these matters is that, as part of
our risk assessment, we determined that the
valuation of investment in subsidiaries has
estimation uncertainty, with a potential range
of reasonable outcomes greater than our
materiality for the parent company’s financial
statements as a whole. The parent company’s
financial statements (note 9) disclose the
sensitivity estimated by the Company.
With the assistance of our own valuation specialists, our procedures included:
·
Assessing valuer’s credentials:
We evaluated the Group’s external
valuer’s competence, objectivity, capability and scope of work.
·
Our experience and benchmarking assumptions:
We applied
our market experience and knowledge of the operating subsidiaries
to challenge the methodology and key assumptions applied by the
Group’s valuer.
·
Test of details:
We agreed net asset values to underlying financial
reporting for less material subsidiaries. We also evaluated the
underlying data used in the cash flow forecasts, on which the
valuations were based.
·
Assessing transparency:
We considered the adequacy of the
Company’s disclosures in respect of the sensitivity of the valuation
to the key assumptions.
We performed the tests above rather than seeking to rely on any of the
Company’s controls because the nature of the balance is such that we would
expect to obtain audit evidence through the detailed procedures described.
Our results:
We found the assessment of the valuation of the parent company’s
investment in subsidiaries to be acceptable (2020 result: acceptable).
We previ
ous
ly re
por
te
d a key audi
t mat
ter in re
lati
on to the ex
isten
ce of in
sura
nc
e debtor
s. Howeve
r
, foll
owin
g the co
rre
ctin
g adj
ustm
ent re
qui
red
in 2020 to addre
ss a
n is
sue re
lati
ng to the hi
stori
c reco
nci
liati
on of in
sur
anc
e de
btor bala
nc
es in S
wed
en, we have not a
sse
ss
ed th
is as o
ne of the
mos
t sig
nifi
can
t ris
ks in ou
r cur
ren
t year a
udi
t and, th
erefo
re, it is n
ot sep
aratel
y id
enti
fied i
n our re
po
r
t this ye
ar
.