An ASIC commissioner has admitted the corporate regulator's role in the implementation of the government's Future of Financial Advice (FOFA) reforms will be a big task.
"We've got a big job there working with the FSC (Financial Services Council) and the individual firms to make sure that we're ready for FOFA, to make sure that you understand our expectations and we understand what you want to do," ASIC commissioner Peter Kell said.
Speaking at last week's FSC conference on the Gold Coast, Kell said much of ASIC's understanding of Australia's financial services sector, particularly in regards to FOFA, had come from industry engagement.
"A lot of that has been going on and I've been impressed by the willingness of many people in the industry to tell us what they're thinking, what their issues are," he said.
He encouraged industry participants to continue their engagement with ASIC, either directly or through industry associations.
"The more we hear from you and understand your issues and concerns, the better we are prepared with our regulatory guides and other information to help people comply with the law," he said.
Asked what advice he would impart, in light of the significant change the industry had experienced in the past two years, he said it was important to take a step back to regain perspective.
"If the past few years, or indeed the past few months, have taught us anything, it is when we're going through a period of change like this it's sometimes important to stand back and have a good look at what you've taken to be normal, business as usual or standard practice when you may have had some concerns about it before thinking 'well, everyone else is doing it'," he said.
"I think there have been some wake-up calls that sometimes I think you need to stand back and think this is not the best approach going forward and think about how you're going to change it."
In terms of changing approach, he said ASIC planned to change tack and become more proactive in the next 12 months.
"We need to identify problems before they blow up. We need to identify some of those firms that are posing significant risks before too many investors get caught up," he said.
"One of our challenges over the next 12 months, and this is right across ASIC, is looking at how we can be more proactive."
Kell used ASIC's action on financial advertising and marketing as an example of where the corporate regulator had stepped up recently.
He said attention would also be paid to Australia's rapidly growing self-managed superannuation sector.
"We do have some concerns at the moment and we're certainly not the only ones," he said.
"There may be people who end up in self-managed super funds that frankly shouldn't be there because they don't have the resources and don't have the understanding of what is going to be required to be a trustee in this sort of environment. And you could see that played out in an extreme case with Trio Capital."
