Nebraska Administrative Code
Topic - INSURANCE, DEPARTMENT OF
Title 210 - NEBRASKA DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE
Chapter 56 - ANNUAL AUDITED FINANCIAL REPORTS
Section 210-56-003 - Definitions
Current through September 17, 2024
The terms and definitions provided herein are intended to provide definitional guidance as the terms used in this Rule.
003.01 Accountant or independent certified public accountant
"Accountant" or "independent certified public accountant" means an independent certified public accountant or accounting firm in good standing with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and in all states in which they are licensed to practice; for Canadian and British companies, it means a Canadian-chartered or British-chartered accountant. For purposes of this Rule, "independent" means not affiliated with an Insurer.
003.02 An "affiliate" of, or person "affiliated" with, a specific person, is a person that directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls, or is controlled by, or is under common control with, the person specified.
003.03 Audit committee
"Audit committee" means a committee (or equivalent body) established by the board of directors of an entity for the purpose of overseeing the accounting and financial reporting processes of an Insurer or Group of insurers, the internal audit function of an insurer or group of insurers (if applicable), and external audits of financial statements of the Insurer or Group of insurers. The Audit committee of any entity that controls a Group of insurers may be deemed to be the Audit committee for one or more of these controlled Insurers solely for the purposes of this Rule at the election of the controlling person. Refer to Section 014.05 for exercising this election. If an Audit committee is not designated by the Insurer, the Insurer's entire board of directors shall constitute the Audit committee.
003.04 Audited financial report
"Audited financial report" means and includes those items specified in Section 005 of this Rule.
003.05 Department
"Department" means the Nebraska Department of Insurance.
003.06 Director
"Director" means the Director of Insurance for the State of Nebraska.
003.07 Indemnification
"Indemnification" means an agreement of indemnity or a release from liability where the intent or effect is to shift or limit in any manner the potential liability of the person or firm for failure to adhere to applicable auditing or professional standards, whether or not resulting in part from knowing or other misrepresentations made by the Insurer or its representatives.
003.08 Independent board member
"Independent board member" has the same meaning as described in Section 014.03.
003.09 Insurer
"Insurer" means any stock insurance company, mutual insurance company, assessment company, reciprocal insurance company, fraternal benefit society or health maintenance organization holding a certificate of authority or license issued by the Department.
003.10 Group of insurers
"Group of insurers" means those licensed Insurers included in the reporting requirements of Neb. Rev. Stat. § 44-2120, or a set of Insurers as identified by management, for the purpose of assessing the effectiveness of Internal control over financial reporting.
003.11 Internal audit function
"Internal audit function" means a person or persons that provide independent, objective, and reasonable assurance designed to add value and improve an organization's operations and accomplish its objectives by bringing a systematic, disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control and governance processes.
003.12 Internal control over financial reporting
"Internal control over financial reporting" means a process effected by an entity's board of directors, management and other personnel designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of the financial statements, i.e., those items specified in Section 005.02 through 005.07 of this Rule and includes those policies and procedures that:
003.13 NAIC
"NAIC" means the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
003.14 NAIC Annual Statement Instructions and the NAIC Accounting Practices and Procedures Manual
"NAIC Annual Statement Instructions and the NAIC Accounting Practices and Procedures Manual" means the edition of the Annual Statement Instructions and Accounting Practice and Procedures Manuals adopted by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners in effect for the period under audit. The NAIC Annual Statement Instructions and the NAIC Accounting Practices and Procedures Manual are available for public inspection at the offices of the Nebraska Department of Insurance, located at 941 O Street, Suite 400, Lincoln, Nebraska 68508.
003.15 SEC
"SEC" means the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
003.16 Section 404
"Section 404" means Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the SEC's rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
003.17 Section 404 Report
" Section 404 Report" means management's report on "internal control over financial reporting" as defined by the SEC and the related attestation report of the independent certified public accountant as described in Section 003.01.
003.18 SOX Compliant Entity
"SOX Compliant Entity" means an entity that either is required to be compliant with, or voluntarily is compliant with, all of the following provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002:
003.19 Statutory accounting practices
"Statutory accounting practices" has the meaning defined in the current editions of the Annual Statement Instructions and Accounting Practice and Procedures Manuals published by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, or as otherwise prescribed by the insurance department of the Insurer's state of domicile
