Circular 8 of 2024: General concerns noted during the analysis of the 2022 AFS and ASR

The Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) would like to express its appreciation to medical schemes, administrators and auditors for their cooperation in submitting the 2022 Annual Financial Statements (AFS) and Annual Statutory Returns (ASR) within the prescribed period, as required by Circular 19 of 2023.

The purpose of this circular is to bring to your attention common problems and issues identified during the analysis of the AFS and ASR in order to:

• enhance the quality of data submitted in the AFS and ASR;
• achieve standardisation and uniformity regarding proper disclosure;
• reduce or minimise errors; and
• establish good financial reporting for the industry in line with the requirements of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

Background

A review of the data collected by the CMS has highlighted a few discrepancies in the information currently being furnished by medical schemes in their statutory returns. The users responsible for preparing the statutory returns and scheme management are requested to address these matters in future submissions.

Statistics

In 2022, there were 72 schemes in operation (including Health Squared Medical Scheme). A total of 71 schemes provided a full submission for 2022. No schemes were unlocked for correction or rejected.

Risk-Based Analysis

A risk-based analysis approach was adopted for the analysis of the Annual Returns and Annual Financial Statements for 2022. Schemes were classified for internal purposes, based on size and demographic profile, into the categories of high, medium, and low-impact schemes. A full analysis was performed on high and medium-impact schemes, whereas a report-level analysis was performed on low-impact schemes.

Of the 71 schemes submitted, the classification of schemes is set out below:

Download the full Circular here