The members voice: AICD Review

More details on Kyoto Protocol position; Corporate Social Responsibility debate; Split superannuation contributions on retirement; Await the IASB position; ASX listing rule amendments; CAMAC review of directors’ personal liability; Submissions. An outline of some of the issues taken up by AICD's policy committees over the past month follow.

More details on Kyoto Protocol position

During the week the recent Earth Summit, a request was made by AICD to the Federal Government for further clarification of its position on the Kyoto Protocol. The letter to the Minister for the Environment and Heritage, David Kemp, asked for a clear statement on the main issues for Australia, the outcomes sought, the strategies for achieving those outcomes, and the government department responsible for developing and implementing those strategies.

Corporate Social Responsibility debate

"Is CSR a force for good or harm?" the title of the Corporate Social Responsibility debate held at the Company Directors Conference on 17 May 2002 may be viewed on www.companydirectors.com.au/conference. Debaters in the 40 minute webcast include Graeme Wise, director, The Body Shop Australia; Mike Waller, director, Heuris and former chief economist, BHP; and Henry Bosch, chairman, Transparency International. This webcast is available until 1 November 2002.

Split superannuation contributions on retirement

An AICD response was made to the Treasury's consultation paper on the proposed splitting of superannuation contributions between couples. AICD supports the splitting of the original member's benefit based on the proportion of benefits accrued since 1 July 2003, with payment being made on retirement. The percentage of the split should take into account the surcharge payments made by the original member. It is not envisaged by AICD that the cost of splitting contributions will fall on employers. Superannuation funds will carry that burden which, in the long run, will be paid by fund members. AICD believes these costs can be minimised by using systems which already exist.

Await the IASB position

In its submission to the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) on ED 106 "Director, executive and related-party disclosures", AICD recommends that the AASB inquiry be deferred pending resolution of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) project on accounting for stock-based remuneration. This project should bring the release of an exposure draft at the end of the year. However, AICD encouraged the AASB to influence the IASB in their deliberations to use "vesting date" rather than "grant date" as the appropriate date to value options.

ASX listing rule amendments

The Australian Stock Exchange has released an Exposure Draft which outlines a number of proposed ASX listing rule amendments to enhance the existing disclosure regime and clarify certain aspects of the requirements. The changes are proposed to take effect from 1 January 2003. AICD's submission argues that rather than amending the listing rules, the ASX should amend its Guidance Note on continuous disclosure to clarify the ASX approach to market disclosure regarding media speculation and market movements which appear to be referrable to media comment or speculation. The continuous disclosure process should then be monitored in the light of this guidance. If it can be demonstrated that listing rule amendments are still required, then amendments could be considered as part of CLERP 9.

CAMAC review of directors' personal liability

The Federal Government has requested the Corporations and Markets Advisory Committee (CAMAC) to identify any inconsistencies and compliance cost overlaps in existing laws relating to directors' liability. The committee will also consider whether potential liability under the various requirements act as disincentives to anyone considering board positions. The AICD will participate in any process that CAMAC puts in place to formulate its report.

Submissions

All AICD submissions of the past month can be found on our website under "Policies and Submissions".

Disclaimer

The purpose of this database is to provide a full-text record of all articles that have appeared in the CDJ since February 1997. It is aimed to assist in the research and reference process. The database has a full-text index and will enable articles to be easily retrieved.It should be noted that information contained in this database is in pre-publication format only - IT IS NOT THE FINAL PRINTED VERSION OF THE CDJ - therefore there might be slight discrepancies between the contents of this database and the printed CDJ.