Shareholders expected Chief Financial Officers to be their first safeguards against overly aggressive, high risk Chief Executives, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer, Senator Ian Campbell said today.
He said the traditional view of CFOs as being number crunchers with a subservient attitude had disappeared.
"Shareholders look to the senior finance person in an organisation to be their eyes and ears and the steadying influence", Senator Campbell said.
"They want CFOs to stand up to Chief Executives who have high risk styles or those prone to be impulsive and headstrong."
Senator Campbell was speaking in Melbourne at the launch last night of a revised set of company operational and financial guidelines prepared by the association of Australia's senior finance executives, the G100.
Senator Campbell said one of the requirements in the Government's CLERP 9 reforms was for CEO/CFO sign off to the board of financial accounts.
He said the guide first published five years ago was an excellent example of industry initiative rather than black letter law imposed by government.
"The Government is committed to continuous improvement of the quality of corporate governance reform. We believe that this process should be primarily driven by private sector initiative such as that shown by the G100," he said.
"Accurate, timely and user friendly information is a prerequisite for a well informed market."
"The guide plays a valuable role in meeting that need."
Melbourne
2 April 2003
Contact:
Wayne Grant, Senator Campbell's Office
08 9421 1755 or 0407 845 280
http://parlsec.treasurer.gov.au