ACE Ltd. said last week that it had improperly accounted for eight finite transactions, prompting the company to restate its financial results for five years and 2005′s first quarter as a result, but the financial impact is very limited.

Indeed, the restatements will actually push nearly $10 billion in shareholders' equity up, but only by $1.0 million in total, the company said.

The Hamilton, Bermuda-based carrier also said other "unrelated corrections" were being made, some related to immaterial items discovered during last year's Sarbanes-Oxley compliance process.

"The practice is that you restate all known errors, regardless of materiality, because you've opened your books," Evan Greenberg, president and CEO, explained during a conference call.

Shareholders' equity as of March 31 now stands at $9.966 billion (rather than $9.965), ACE said, noting that the cumulative impact of finite-deal corrections was an equity boost of $13 million, while other corrections lowered shareholders' equity $12 million.

The finite-risk investigation, conducted by three outside law firms under the guidance of ACE's audit committee, resulted in the review of more than 100 contracts, Mr. Greenberg said. He noted that 15,000 hours of professional time were devoted to these reviews, which had been undertaken in response to industrywide regulatory investigations of non-traditional products.

Generally, finite insurance and reinsurance is distinguished from traditional insurance and reinsurance in that the provider's risk is more limited than it is in traditional contracts. ACE disclosed that counterparties to the agreements were not all insurance or reinsurance companies.

ACE said that seven of the eight deals involved in the restatement did not meet the applicable risk transfer requirements (set forth in FAS 113). Some involved written or oral agreements that subsequently reduced or eliminated the level of anticipated risk transfer on which the original accounting was based.

Three deals involved ACE as a buyer, three as a seller, and two were between subsidiaries. All eight originated prior to 2002–two remain in effect. Mr. Greenberg said that contracts still in effect "were inherited from predecessor organizations."

In a written statement, ACE said further restatements are possible and also left open the possibility of restatements of other items. But during a conference call, Mr. Greenberg said: "Sitting here right now, we don't expect anything additional. We can't speak with certainty, [but] we're not aware of any items we haven't recognized."

Based on the disclosures so far, first-quarter income will be $3 million higher upon restatement, rising to $436 million, or $1.48 per share.

ACE said its investigation did not identify any instances of inappropriate conduct by current senior managers or board members, prompting a question as to whether the word "current" was carefully chosen.

"Please don't read anything into it," Mr. Greenberg said, noting that ACE could not directly respond to all possible questions because of ongoing dialogue with regulators. "Sure, every word…was picked carefully. We have three law firms, and there was a view that it would be important to make a statement about current management."

"We're neutral on anything beyond current management," he added.

"Sitting here right now, we don't expect anything additional. We can't speak with certainty, [but] we're not aware of any items we haven't recognized."

Evan Greenberg, President & CEO

ACE

Special Reports /

Finite Deals Prompt ACE To Restate Results

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