Numbers are key

Our Group Finance department has several areas of specialisation. In Business Analysis & Planning, we support our Executive Board members and the heads of our two business groups, Life & Health Reinsurance and Property & Casualty Reinsurance, in their performance analysis, planning and forecasting activities. We are responsible for estimating the level of earnings based on IFRS and German GAAP accounting standards and from a purely economic perspective. Our analyses also provide the Supervisory Board with key information enabling them to assess the value creation of the Business Groups from an economic perspective.

Based on the analysis of our business portfolio from different perspectives, various reports and data are provided for internal and external purposes. As the first point of contact for questions and analyses relating to underwriting valuations and their results, we combine all the skills and activities under one roof. Another very important task for us is the continuous improvement of methods and tools in the areas of reporting, performance measurement and management. The Underwriting Controlling unit within our department is primarily responsible for operational controlling tasks.

Our Accounting, Consolidation & Reporting department fulfils the statutory reporting requirements of the German Commercial Code (HGB), Solvency II and IFRS. We prepare annual and consolidated financial statements and are responsible for the planning and forecasting process. We advise on pending transactions and their structuring and act as a group-wide radar screen. We identify new regulatory requirements, analyse and assess their relevance to the Group, provide information, initiate projects and ensure the necessary knowledge transfer. In all of this, compliance is our top priority. We are therefore constantly looking for ways to further develop our already extensive internal control system.

We are an internal service provider that understands and anticipates the needs of our customers. We act proactively and always strive to test and, wherever possible, optimise solutions in a targeted manner. Digital transformation is our passion, and our strategic motto "From Hindsight to Foresight, through Insight" is our guiding principle.

The Group Tax team ensures comprehensive tax compliance with respect to all relevant legal frameworks. This includes corporate tax, trade tax, VAT and insurance tax, as well as international taxation, taking into account the Foreign Tax Act. We assess tax risks in processes or business transactions, work closely with the German tax authorities (tax audits) and are closely involved in quarterly and annual reporting processes.

Here we take on almost everything that finance has to offer. Working in various teams, we process reinsurance settlements and claims, manage debt collection for our more than 2,000 clients, prepare quarterly and annual financial statements in accordance with (inter)national standards and support our international locations in tax and legal matters. Because our work requires in-depth market and specialist knowledge, we often work closely with internal and external experts.

In this division, we apply our capital market expertise to ensure high-quality and quantitative asset and collateral management for the Hannover Re Group and to structure external financing with a view to optimising return on equity. The division is divided into two teams and has three central functions:

As an overarching coordination and competence centre, the Investment Management Team is responsible for the strategic management of our investments and ensures a balanced risk/return ratio. We then use external asset managers to implement the final investments. We manage them according to investment strategies and guidelines that we set, always on the basis of appropriate asset-liability management. We also provide internal and external reporting on the investments.

The Collateral Management Team is responsible for offering and managing forms of collateral for our reinsurance activities. Both directions of collateralisation are managed, one in favour of Hannover Re and one against it. The spectrum ranges from letters of credit to blocked securities accounts in various countries. Our division is the link between our internal departments, foreign subsidiaries, banks, primary insurers and brokers. Our range of collateral solutions often makes reinsurance business possible in the first place.

Within the Corporate Finance function we are primarily concerned with issues relating to the optimal capital structure of the Hannover Re Group. This includes the analysis and evaluation of equity and debt instruments offered on the capital market and the assessment of various requirements (from rating agencies, supervisory authorities, etc.). We also see ourselves as innovators, working with banks and external providers to develop tailor-made financing instruments and place them on the capital markets.

The Investor & Rating Agency Relations department has three main tasks: firstly, we are responsible for presenting Hannover Re shares and fixed-interest securities to analysts and investors as an attractive investment. To this end, we provide the financial market with comprehensive and meaningful information on our strategy, business development and future prospects. We also foster dialogue with investors and external stakeholders through roadshows, conferences, AGMs and investor days.

We also coordinate the rating process for the Hannover Re Group. We ensure that the target ratings are optimally aligned with Hannover Re's business purpose and anchored in the corporate strategy. To this end we work closely with the rating agencies. We attend to their information needs in detail and continue to build on our long-standing and reliable relationships with them.

The third of our main tasks is the preparation of financial reports, both for the Group and for individual companies, covering financial years and quarters. These reports provide the capital market with comprehensive and consistent information. We strive to continuously develop this information content and to optimise the production process.

In our "Coordination International Operations" (CIO) department we act as a bridge between the more than 170 Group companies and branches of Hannover Re worldwide and our colleagues in Hannover on a wide range of issues. This includes, above all, the preparation and follow-up of committee meetings on the basis of governance for the ongoing support and management of the units for which we are responsible. We also take care of the necessary capitalisation and financing of the individual companies and branches in line with Hannover Re's capital-efficient business model.

In addition, we support the individual units with their numerous regulatory requirements and reporting obligations. At the same time, we provide the departments in Hannover with a wide range of information about our local units, whether on a regular basis, e.g. in the areas of accounting or tax, or on an ad hoc basis as part of audits by the tax or supervisory authorities.

Another exciting area of activity for the CIO is Group-wide mergers and acquisitions projects, including Group-internal structural measures such as the creation, restructuring or closure of units within the Group. Here we take on project management and coordinate the cooperation of all departments involved, both locally and in Hanover.