AC 213 Assignment
The Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry was established in December 2017. The reports of the commission highlighted several breaches on the part of the financial institutions. The report of the commission chaired by Justice Kenneth Madison Hayne could be found at the commission’s website among the resources in the resources section below.
The most important of its terms of reference is to ‘examine misconduct across the entire financial services sector’ (Australian Government, n.d.). The major banks have conceded their behaviour has not always been in their customers’ interests and have taken steps to rectify these problems (Hunt & Terry 2018). Bligh (2017) noted the need to push through industry-wide reforms in the sector.
As a student of Corporate Accounting, it is essential to consider the Corporate Governance lapses in the day-to-day running of corporations as there are consequences for doing otherwise. In this assignment, you will be focusing on the banking sector.
- What is Corporate Governance? Explain a few theories and advantages of corporate governance (500 words) – 7.5 marks
2a. Identify the various stakeholders in NAB case. Next to each of them, identify the corporate governance responsibilities owed by NAB. It is possible that some corporate governance responsibilities are owed to more than a stakeholder – (500 words 5 marks)
2b. Using the 8 principles of the ASX, analyse the Corporate Governance of National Australia Bank which was singled out by Commissioner Hayne. You should clearly highlight the 8 principles and match them with the specific ASX corporate governance principles and recommendations. (500 words) – 5 marks
- What were the consequences of these lapses for the big four banks in Australia? (500 words) – 7.5 marks
- Presentation with 10 references with at least two being academic journals. – 5 marks
Resources and references:
Australian Government (nd). Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry, ‘Terms of reference’. https://financialservices.royalcommission.gov.au/Pages/Terms-of-reference.aspx
Hunt, B. and Terry, C., 2018. Financial institutions and markets. Cengage AU.
Bligh, A. (2017). ‘Here’s why Aussie banks are backing a royal commission’. Australian Banking Association, 30 November.
Royal Commission report: https://financialservices.royalcommission.gov.au/Pages/reports.aspx
Annual reports of NAB
ASX 8 principles 4th edition
Your textbook particularly chapters 4 and 11
News resources. You can find other resources.
Relevant journals and papers on Corporate Governance
Yusoff, W.F.W. and Alhaji, I.A., 2012. Insight of corporate governance theories. Journal of Business & Management, 1(1), pp.52-63.
Clarke, T., 2004. Theories of corporate governance. The Philosophical Foundations of Corporate Governance, Oxon.
Farrar, J., 2008. Corporate governance: theories, principles and practice. Oxford University Press.
Bhagat, S. and Bolton, B., 2008. Corporate governance and firm performance. Journal of corporate finance, 14(3), pp.257-273.