Corporate Law Economic Reform Program Act 2004
Encyclopedia
Corporate Law Economic Reform Program (Audit Reform & Corporate Disclosure) Act 2004, commonly called CLERP 9, is the most recent reform to the Corporations Act 2001 (Commonwealth) which governs corporate law
in Australia
. It was enacted in July 2004.
It is based on the reform proposals contained in the CLERP 9 discussion paper, Corporation disclosure - strengthening the financial reporting framework, which was released by the Australian government in September 2002. The CLERP Act also contains a number of reforms flowing from the recommendations contained in the report of the HIH Insurance
Royal Commission
released in April 2003.
The CLERP Act proposes three bodies to represent a range of interests:
CPA Australia
suggested that the legislation should build a framework that also identifies the conduct and practices of boards of directors, staff who prepare financial reports and internal and external audit functions. It also suggested including the roles of institutional investor
s, credit rating
agencies, financial analyst
s and investment banks.
Corporate law
Corporate law is the study of how shareholders, directors, employees, creditors, and other stakeholders such as consumers, the community and the environment interact with one another. Corporate law is a part of a broader companies law...
in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It was enacted in July 2004.
It is based on the reform proposals contained in the CLERP 9 discussion paper, Corporation disclosure - strengthening the financial reporting framework, which was released by the Australian government in September 2002. The CLERP Act also contains a number of reforms flowing from the recommendations contained in the report of the HIH Insurance
HIH Insurance
HIH Insurance was Australia's second largest insurance company. It was placed into provisional liquidation on 15 March 2001. The demise of HIH is considered to be the largest corporate collapse in Australia's history, with liquidators estimating that HIH's losses totalled up to $5.3 billion...
Royal Commission
Royal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
released in April 2003.
The CLERP Act proposes three bodies to represent a range of interests:
- the Financial Reporting Council to oversee standard setting for audit and accounting;
- the Australian Securities ExchangeAustralian Securities ExchangeThe Australian Securities Exchange was created by the merger of the Australian Stock Exchange and the Sydney Futures Exchange in July 2006. It is the primary stock exchange group in Australia....
's Corporate Governance Council to oversee the development of best practice guidelines for corporate governance within listed companies; - and the Shareholders and Investors Advisory Council to provide a forum for the consideration of retail investors' concerns.
CPA Australia
CPA Australia
CPA Australia is one of three professional accounting bodies in Australia, the others being the Institute of Public Accountants and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia....
suggested that the legislation should build a framework that also identifies the conduct and practices of boards of directors, staff who prepare financial reports and internal and external audit functions. It also suggested including the roles of institutional investor
Institutional investor
Institutional investors are organizations which pool large sums of money and invest those sums in securities, real property and other investment assets...
s, credit rating
Credit rating
A credit rating evaluates the credit worthiness of an issuer of specific types of debt, specifically, debt issued by a business enterprise such as a corporation or a government. It is an evaluation made by a credit rating agency of the debt issuers likelihood of default. Credit ratings are...
agencies, financial analyst
Financial analyst
A financial analyst, securities analyst, research analyst, equity analyst, or investment analyst is a person who performs financial analysis for external or internal clients as a core part of the job.-Job:...
s and investment banks.