Life insurance company financial statements have evolved to meet the needs of its various audiences. To understand the structure and content of these statements, a good place to start is with the needs and goals of these audiences. They include investors, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), state insurance regulators, creditors, security analysts, rating agencies, policyowners, company management, and agents and employees of the company. Each of these audiences has different interests, and the financial statements for each audience have different objectives. Not unexpectedly, the objectives overlap in many respects.