One Year On from the Hayne Royal Commission

As many of you would have read in the papers over the weekend it is one year since Commissioner Hayne handed down his final Report into Misconduct into the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry.

The Government has recently released exposure draft legislation for public comment which relates to Royal Commission measures to be introduced into Parliament by mid-2020. A full copy can be found here.  

Commissioner Hayne stated in his report in relation to Conduct that:

He made three general points:

• the culture of each entity is unique, and may vary widely within different parts of the entity
• there is no single ‘best practice’ for creating or maintaining a desirable culture, but one necessary aspect of a desirable culture is adherence to the basic norms of behaviour: obey the law; do not mislead or deceive; act fairly; provide services that are fit for purpose; deliver services with reasonable care and skill; and when acting for another, act in the best interests of that other.
• culture cannot be prescribed or legislated. Proper governance, a healthy culture, and accountability are desired outcomes, but they cannot be imposed by rules that say, ‘You must …’ or ‘You may not …’. ‘Culture is about behaviours. 

The Big four banks are the advocates for cultural change – but as they deal with their remediation programs and significant litigation – cultural change may prove challenging. 

Not only in financial services, but across all industries and companies irrespective of size, change can be the catalyst for good culture and ultimately culture drives good behaviour and motivates employees to deliver outstanding service to advisers and in turn their clients. 

The team at 3YS Owls encourage your comments on whether you have seen a cultural shift in the Financial Services industry post the Royal Commission or is the industry challenged by FASEA, remediation, further regulation and change fatigue?

Call us at 1300 3YS OWLS (397 695) or get in touch if you would like to have a chat about culture, conduct a culture assessment or understand how to measure culture. 

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About the author

Ainslie Cunningham is a Corporate Governance Consultant and is a Co-Founder of 3YS Owls. Ainslie is a qualified company secretary and risk manager, a fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia and the Chartered Governance Institute and is a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and Risk Management Institute of Australasia. Ainslie specialies in the key areas of: Corporate Governance; Risk Management; and Company Secretarial Services. Read More

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