A speech by John Price, Commissioner, Australian Securities and Investments Commission at the Governance Institute of Australia, 33rd National Conference (Sydney, Australia), 28 November 2016
Introduction
Thank you for inviting me to speak about the current state of corporate culture.
ASIC’s vision is to allow markets to fund the economy and, in turn, economic growth; in doing so, contributing to the financial wellbeing of all Australians. We do this by focusing on our regulatory objectives of:
- promoting investor and consumer trust and confidence
- ensuring fair and efficient markets.
In August, we released our Corporate Plan for 2016–17, and outlined the key challenges and risks to our vision. In 2016–17, we are continuing to focus on the risks from poor gatekeeper culture driving poor conduct.
As part of my presentation this afternoon, I’d like to cover three key areas:
- why culture matters
- ASIC’s approach to culture
- some of the practical things that directors and boards can do to promote a more positive culture within their organisation.