In a distant kingdom, many years ago, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) wanted to achieve consistent accounting for all insurance contracts by all companies around the world (although the US has opted out and US GAAP will persist), to enable comparability with non-insurance products. In May 2017, the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) 17 on Insurance Contracts was released with an effective date of 1 January 2021, with prior-year comparative reporting required.