The Corporate Law Economic Reform Program (Audit Reform & Corporate Disclosure) Act 2004, commonly called CLERP 9, became law on July 1, 2004. It is the most recent reform of the Corporations Act 2001 (Commonwealth) which governs corporate law in Australia. It requires adequate measures, processes and procedures to meet the obligations of the Act, especially for auditing and corporate financial reporting. The Act is based on the reform proposals contained in the CLERP 9 discussion paper, Corporation disclosure - strengthening the financial reporting framework of 2002. This paper proposes three bodies representing a range of interests:
- the Financial Reporting Council to oversee standard settings for auditing and accounting;
- the Australian Securities Exchange's Corporate Governance Council to oversee the development of best practice guidelines for corporate governance within listed companies;
- the Shareholders and Investors Advisory Council to provide a forum for the consideration of retail investors' concerns.
So much for theory. If you have practical experiences with CLERP 9, you are very welcome to share them with the community!
More information on CLERP 9 is available here: www.grc-lounge.com