Culture will be front and centre of the regulatory agenda in
Australia in 2016. The absence of the right culture in an insurer
will be a red flag for regulators, so businesses need to
increasingly consider what drives the behaviour of individuals and
actions of senior management in their organisation.
Both the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)
and the Australian Prudential and Regulatory Authority (APRA) are
increasing their scrutiny of the culture in regulated businesses.
Under its Corporate Plan for 2015-2019, ASIC notes that where a
firm's culture is lacking this will be a "red flag"
that there may be broader regulatory problems. ASIC has defined
culture as the underlying mind-set and influences on the behaviour
of individuals within an organisation and actions of senior
management that are put in place, including incentives. Equally,
APRA will undertake a stock take of practices that Boards are
employing to assess whether a firm's risk
