Our latest insights

We recently sat down with NSW Club leaders to discuss Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) considerations on the Club industry in the short to medium term. The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) has now released their standard on Sustainability, and Treasury has sent a draft policy on how the standards will be adopted in Australia. Although there is no set guidance at this stage, it is most likely Clubs will need to adopt this standard in FY26.

With growing business appetite for innovative financial technology and on-demand finance in recent years, Fintechs have been embraced by businesses and consumers alike. Fintechs now have the opportunity to drive change, expand into other industries – and sometimes even scale up and expand into new markets. As we near business planning season and end of financial year, have you considered how R&D Incentives, tax considerations and a governance structure can support your sustainable growth?

Authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs) and the broader banking sector have recently faced significant headwinds, as the sector navigates unprecedented change. How can you best navigate current challenges and leverage opportunities to find efficiencies as you step into the new financial year? Here, we outline eight key considerations you should address to ensure your business is set up for FY24.

Biotechnology organisations often grapple with three key trends – where the next round of funding will come from, how to attract specialised talent to support vital innovation, and how to tackle manufacturing and scale up. They seek stability and certainty in funding to ensure projects are supported and reach their full potential. How can the upcoming Federal Budget announcement better support this sector?

CPS 230 requires regulated entities to consider service disruption from a different perspective. Working backwards through a scenario, entities must identify the harm that a disruption may cause to its customers or the broader financial system, then take active measures to prevent it (operational risk) and recover from it (operational resilience).

The Security of Critical Infrastructure Risk Management Program Rules (CIRMP) commenced on 17 February 2023 and was signed off by The Minister for Home Affairs the Hon Clare O’Neil MP (the Minister). This marks the beginning of the six-month transition period for responsible entities to adopt a written CIRMP.

Across New South Wales (NSW) there are 128 local councils, all with the important role of building community, maintaining infrastructure, and supporting future developments as well as providing a range of social services.

On 10 November, APRA released their insights from their latest risk culture survey in an Insight, “No room for complacency on bank risk culture”. This survey was rolled out to 18 ADIs in late 2021. APRA’s analysis included matters for ADIs to consider, however in our experience these could equally be applied to insurers and Registerable Superannuation Entity Licences (RSELs).

APRA has released draft Prudential Standard CPS 230 Operational Risk Management for comment. CPS 230 will replace CPS 231: Outsourcing and CPS 232: Business Continuity, and the sector specific standards HPS 231, SPS 231 and SPS 232. What is operational resilience? Operational risk management analyses and defines risks associated with people, processes, and systems. Operational resilience defines the approach to managing operational risks.

As we come to the end of the financial year, its timely to review your upcoming tax compliance obligations. For multinational entities, the disclosures and complexities of tax compliance generally have never been more complex or challenging. Here are some of the main IDS issues to be aware of.

Last week, APRA Deputy Chair John Lonsdale delivered a speech at the COBA CEO and Director Forum. Reflecting on the history of the mutual banking sector, Lonsdale highlighted APRA’s recent review of mutuals exiting the industry and their performance 12 months prior to their exit. It brought to the fore several issues that could lead to potential future mutual exits, such as poor performance on cost management, lending growth and profitability. APRA highlighted three core priorities to “support a strong, stable mutual sector”, being: • Cyber risk, including CPS 234 reviews • Risk culture • Contingency and continuity frameworks

We explore the different market segments in the construction industry during the COVID building boom to better understand the profile of industry participants most likely to feel the sting of continuing supply chain pressure.