A speech by John Price, Commissioner, Australian Securities and Investments Commission to the Governance Institute of Australia's Corporate Governance Forum 2016 (Sydney, Australia) 25 May 2016.
Introduction
Thank you for inviting me to speak at your conference today about ASIC’s focus on culture.
As I mentioned in the previous session, good governance is one of the core elements of a positive organisational culture. Therefore, as directors and corporate governance specialists, you can all make a difference by promoting a more positive culture, not just within your firms, but more broadly across the industries in which you work.
One of ASIC’s key priorities is to promote investor and financial consumer trust and confidence. Trust and confidence is critical to the operation of the financial system. Poor culture can undermine that trust and confidence. By contrast, good culture, which is more conducive to good conduct, helps maintain trust and confidence.