The Malta Financial Services Authority has published inspection findings and supervisory expectations for authorized insurance and reinsurance undertakings’ Regulatory Financial Returns, continuing its focus on stronger financial reporting and data governance. Although most firms submitted returns on time and have improved their data-quality processes, inspections identified recurring weaknesses affecting the accuracy, completeness and consistency of submissions. Key concerns included insufficient reconciliation across returns, extensive spreadsheet use, inconsistent application of the four-eye principle and weak documentation of controls. The authority also found gaps in internal checklists, declaration forms, template updates, finance procedure manuals and internal audit coverage. Firms should strengthen reporting resources, reduce spreadsheet reliance or introduce formal reconciliations, document preparer and reviewer checks, maintain current procedures with version control, and include regulatory submissions and data quality in upcoming internal audit cycles. The authority also expects firms to address common inconsistencies between management accounts, national templates, quantitative reporting templates and audited financial statements, including discrepancies in cross-border and business-written data. Undertakings should allocate sufficient time and resources to produce timely, accurate and complete submissions rather than relying on subsequent resubmissions.
2026-09-03Malta Financial Services Authority
Malta Financial Services Authority sets reporting control expectations after insurance data inspections
The Malta Financial Services Authority has set detailed expectations for insurance and reinsurance undertakings after inspections found recurring weaknesses in regulatory reporting controls and data consistency. Firms should strengthen reconciliations, preparer-reviewer checks, documentation, internal audit coverage and data management, while reducing spreadsheet reliance and ensuring returns are accurate, complete and submitted on time.