School of Business and Law

ECU Business Flashlight - 22 November 2019

IS THERE A RIGHT TO TRUST? Lessons learned from the Banking Royal Commission, and some big ideas about how to make business work for the community, not the other way round.

In 1970, economist Milton Friedman wrote that the only responsibility of business was to make a profit, as long they did so within the rules of the game. But as the Financial Services Royal Commission showed so clearly, that paradigm is flawed.

While some of the misconduct revealed at the Royal Commission breached the law, a lot was also within the rules. For example, it isn’t illegal to keep charging financial advice commissions long after they are supposed to stop or to take a go slow approach to remediation. What is just as worrying, is that just nine months after the Royal Commission, parts of the industry are fighting a rearguard action to water down or delay some of the important recommendations.  And there is yet another inquiry into the banking industry, this time with the ACCC looking at home loan pricing.

What is going so wrong? And it isn't just in banking. We see similar problems in many of our consumer markets: energy, insurance and telecommunications. The problem is that we don't have an effective paradigm to replace Friedman, one that will help restore community trust in business.  There's a broad canvas to fill.  Fairness. Responsibility-based regulation. The purpose of business. Shareholder vs stakeholder capitalism. And why not a right to trust?

• When:    Friday, 22 November 2019
• Where:   The Duxton Hotel Perth   No 1 St Georges Terrace, Perth
• Time:      17:00 - 19:30

To register and obtain and obtain your free admission pass for this event, please log on to the Eventbrite website:

https://ecubusinessflashlight32019.eventbrite.com.au

This forum will feature the following presenters:

Keynote Speaker: Fiona Guthrie AM is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Financial Counselling Australia (FCA). Fiona started her career in consumer advocacy as a voluntary financial counsellor at Caxton Legal Centre, and in 1990 helped set up the Financial Counsellors Association of Queensland. She has now been involved with the consumer movement for over 30 years, including a number of years on the executive of the Consumers’ Federation of Australia. She was a former board member of Energex Retail, the Insurance Ombudsman Service and the Financial Ombudsman Service, and a former chair of ASIC’s Consumer Advisory Panel. She joined FCA as CEO in mid-2009, is a member of the Financial Literacy Board and is on the boards of Way Forward Debt Solutions and consumer advocacy group, Choice. She also represents FCA on the ACCC’s Consumer Consultative Committee. She holds a B.A., L.L.B and M.B.A. and in 2017 was a recipient of an Order of Australia for significant service to the community through social welfare and financial counselling roles. Fiona’s passion for fairness and belief that everyone deserves a fair go drives her work. Her vision is to strengthen FCA’s role as a trusted voice around financial hardship, and to secure adequate and sustainable funding for financial counselling

Insight Speaker: Professor Robert Powell, PhD is a Professor of Finance at Edith Cowan University’s School of Business and Law. He was a former Director of the Markets and Services Research Centre (MASRC). Prior to commencing teaching with ECU in 2006, Rob gained over 20 years’ experience in financial institutions, including senior management levels, incorporating customer relations, credit risk management and risk modelling. Rob obtained his PhD from Edith Cowan University in 2008 and since then received a number of awards and recognition for his research and teaching activities, including an Australian citation for outstanding contribution to student outcomes in 2015 and a highest impact publication award in 2017. Rob is recognised as a leading scholar in the field of Finance, publishing extensively in the areas of credit risk, market risk, value at risk and banking.