After years of issues and commentators calling for reform, the findings from a parliamentary inquiry into the corporate regulator ASIC are expected next month — with signs that significant changes could be on their way.
It's the stuff of nightmares: a Panama-based online Ponzi scheme expands its operations into Australia using a small group of Australian promoters and social media to reel in tens of thousands of Australians with the promise of a 1 per cent daily return on their investments.
Along with raising the usual issues about the regulator's effectiveness, this parliamentary inquiry examined its culture after former ASIC chairmanASIC's former boss says the job led him to despair Shipton used his testimony to call for "structural reform". He described the governance arrangements of ASIC as "convoluted" and "Swiss cheese" arrangements, saying it doesn't provide clarity.This hoary issue of ASIC's culture re-emerged earlier this month when ASIC released its 2023 survey on culture, based on the perceptions of 1,056 respondents, representing a 61 per cent response rate.
He also argues that there is too little understanding of what he describes as "the unique cultural and motivational human-capital challenges" within regulators; specifically, how the concepts of public service motivation apply to regulatory bodies. "While culture is built over many years, there is room for improvement in every organisation and ASIC is no different," he said.
For victims of crime, like the investors of CashFX, the real world experience is ASIC failed to protect them. Lawyer Mark Allen penned a submission to the latest parliamentary inquiry about his dealings with ASIC and its failure to act on a series of tip-offs from his client, an insider at a company called Nuix, which listed the biggest float of 2020 then destroyed billions of dollars in investor value.
The reality is ASIC has a big brief and limited resources. A cultural problem of staff lacking motivation, satisfaction and customer service focus needs to be taken seriously, particularly given the long-held perception that it is a timid regulator too slow to act on tip-offs.
Cryptocurrency Crypto Finance Financial Industry Regulation
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
John Hempton tip-off: ASIC secretly probed IAG’s Greensill disclosureAs IAG raised $750m, a hedge fund’s tip-off claimed there was scant detail about exposure to fast financier Greensill Group. Since then, $7b in gross claims have been declared.
Read more »
Magnis Energy, Frank Poullas sued by ASIC for misleading disclosureThe regulator is suing Magnis Energy and chairman Frank Poullas in Federal Court for misleading investors over the “parlous state” of its battery factory.
Read more »
CBA ASX : ASIC chairman Joe Longo ‘very disturbed’ about Commonwealth Bank’s bonus moveJoe Longo said he had raised concerns about CBA’s breach of bonus caps directly with the bank’s chairman Paul O’Malley and urged the bank to reconsider.
Read more »
PwC tax leaks scandal: Let ASIC police big four conflicts: SamuelFormer ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel says the big four’s governance changes looked good on paper, but would not fundamentally change the culture of the firms.
Read more »
ASIC puts superannuation funds on notice over advice feesSuper funds are obliged to ensure members are only charged for financial advice they actually receive but not all are doing so.
Read more »
ASIC staff survey shows corporate watchdog “broken”A confidential staff survey made public through a Senate inquiry on Tuesday showed the regulator had just two out of 12 outcomes at average or desirable levels.
Read more »