Penalties Regimes to Counter Corporate and Financial Wrongdoing in Australia - Views of Governance Professionals

Abstract

The issues of corporate misconduct, its effects and how regulators and other law enforcement actors respond to such behaviour are increasingly contentious in Australia and overseas. In the wake of a succession of scandals in recent years in Australia’s financial sector there has been much debate about whether the penalties regimes available to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) are adequate and whether they are being implemented effectively. This paper discusses these issues drawing upon the results of an online survey of members of Governance Institute of Australia (GIA) conducted in mid-2016 by researchers at the University of Melbourne. The survey responses, (n=365), provide interesting insights into how penalties regimes to counter corporate misconduct are perceived by governance professionals.

Keywords: Corporate Misconduct, Enforcement, Governance, Penalties

JEL Classification: G18, G28, K22, K42