New ASIC shadow shop in 2009-10
Tony D'Aloisio
Australian financial planners are facing another shadow shopping survey on the part of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) next financial year.
That is the bottom line of information delivered to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporate and Financial Services by ASIC chairman Tony D’Aloisio.
However, at the same time as confirming its intention to conduct another shadow shopping exercise — its first since 2006 — ASIC described the exercise as an “expensive and time consuming process”.
The regulator pointed to the expense and time involved in the shadow shopping exercises as being one of the reasons for the length of time that had elapsed since the last shadow shop.
What also emerged from the processes of the Parliamentary Committee was that the regulator was being driven by its political masters, with the committee stating that it was of the view that ASIC “has still not adequately explained why it has taken so long to establish plans for another shadow shopping exercise”.
The committee noted, however, that it was “encouraged that the decision has been made to conduct another one, even if it is later than desirable”.
AUTHOR
Mike Taylor
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