The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has a business plan to guide its regulation of insolvency practitioners. In 2016-17 two new projects have been added to the ongoing ones. Here is ASIC’s summary of the plan as published recently on its website …
2016-17 ASIC Business Plan Summary by Sector: Insolvency Practitioners
ASIC Key Projects |
ASIC Focus |
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|---|---|---|
| Stakeholder engagement Communicating with industry and individual firms to reinforce and articulate standards and expectations (ongoing project) |
⚬ Communicating with stakeholders (e.g. through media releases, journal articles, ad-hoc bulletins, regular newsletters), including in relation to surveillance outcomes, to reinforce and articulate standards and expectations
⚬ Releasing key communications, such as: ⚬ Engaging with stakeholders, including meeting with individual firms and industry bodies (such as the Australian Restructuring, Insolvency and Turnaround Association (ARITA), Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, CPA Australia, and Australian Financial Security Authority, and other government agencies such as the Australian Taxation Office, Department of Employment and Fair Work Ombudsman ⚬ Participating in and contributing to the Phoenix Taskforce and the Serious Financial Crime Taskforce |
|
| Information for registered liquidators and other stakeholders (new project) | ⚬ Working closely with industry to further develop guidance and lift standards of conduct
⚬ Reviewing existing ASIC guidance to reflect law reform and improving existing creditor and other stakeholder information published by ASIC ⚬ Reviewing and improving what information registered liquidators currently report to facilitate the assessment and, where appropriate, investigation of reports of alleged misconduct |
|
| Registered liquidators’ independence and remuneration (new project) | ⚬ Independence (including referral relationships with pre-insolvency advisors) and remuneration (including adequacy of disclosure and reasonableness); anticipated to continue into 2017-18 | |
| Surveillance of high-risk registered liquidators (ongoing project) | ⚬ Misconduct resulting from conflicts of interest, incompetence and improper gain | |
| Ensuring compliance with statutory lodgements obligations and publication of notices requirements (ongoing project) | ⚬ Reviewing registered liquidator outstanding statutory lodgements and publication of notices (including insolvency and external administration related notices) on the ASIC published notices website to identify systemic non-compliance | |
| Lodgement of annual statements (ongoing project) | ⚬ Reviewing all annual statements from registered liquidators to detect non-compliance with the requirements to maintain registration, including identification of potential competence concerns | |
| Transactional reviews (ongoing project) | ⚬ Undertaking reviews identified through referrals, and responding to identified concerns including: – inappropriate relationships between registered liquidators and pre-insolvency advisers – inadequate declarations of relevant relationships and indemnities – inadequate remuneration disclosure |
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| Investigate and where appropriate take administrative or court action (ongoing project) | ⚬ Investigating and taking action against registered liquidator misconduct, as identified through surveillances and referrals | |
| Policy advice Support development and implementation of key Government law reforms and other initiatives (ongoing project) |
⚬ Advising Government on proposed insolvency reforms (including proposed reforms in the Government’s National Innovation and Science Agenda) and implementing the Insolvency Law Reform Act 2016, including engaging with Treasury, industry and professional bodies, introducing new guidance and implementing IT and business process changes
⚬ Delivering an enhanced ASIC Form 507 Report as to Affairs (RATA), including stakeholder consultation, to provide better information to facilitate the conduct of external administrations and improve reporting to creditors ⚬ Liaising with Treasury and industry/professional bodies regarding the Government’s proposals/reforms to facilitate corporate restructure (a ‘safe harbour’ and voiding of ipso facto clauses) from the Productivity Commission (in recommendations from its inquiry report into business set-up, transfer and closure) and the Government’s National Innovation and Science Agenda |