An address by Ian Mackintosh, ASIC's Chief Accountant to the Centre for Corporate Law and Securities Regulation, Melbourne, 28 May 2002.
Thank you for inviting me to be involved in what promises to be a very interesting discussion of a very topical issue. Given the different background of each of the speakers we are sure to have diverse opinions and an active and constructive debate.
I propose to divide my 20 minutes into two parts. Firstly I would like to comment on Professor Ramsay's report entitled 'Independence of Australian Company Auditors' and some issues emerging from it. And secondly I would like to spend some time discussing a paper given earlier this month by the Chairman of ASIC, David Knott, entitled 'Protecting the Investor: the Regulator and Audit.' That paper spells out 10 measures for accounting and audit reform and I think they are a very worthwhile contribution to the overall considerations.
The Ramsay Report, October 2001
In general ASIC was supportive of the Ramsay Report and most of its recommendations. The report steered a commonsense middle path through a complicated and ever changing environment.
However, there were some areas that did not have our full support.