Presentation at panel session by John Price, Commissioner, Australian Securities and Investments Commission at the G100 Congress 2015: An insightful look at the issues, challenges and solutions facing Australian business (Sydney, Australia), Wednesday, 20 May 2015.
Our objectives
ASIC has the objectives of ensuring investor trust and confidence and fair, orderly and transparent markets. The quality of financial reports is an important contributor to these objectives. This involves providing useful and meaningful information for investors and others.
While some level of complexity in financial reports is necessary given the increasing complexity of businesses and the environment in which they operate, important information can be lost in unnecessary clutter. For a number of years we have emphasised in public statements that we focus on material disclosures and do not pursue immaterial disclosures. We were also major contributors to the Financial Reporting Council’s paper on Managing complexity in financial reporting.