16 Jul ASIC WARNS BUSINESSES ON MORE DISCLOSURE; CORPORATIONS LAW SHOULD REFLECT DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
Posted at 04:36h
in Uncategorised
As Victoria goes into lockdown due to a resurgence in COVID-19 cases, we look at business and media insights over the past week.
ASIC WARNS BUSINESSES: MORE DISCLOSURE, PLEASE
- As we get closer to reporting season, ASIC has issued another directive to companies to reveal just how reliant they are on the Morrison Government’s JobKeeper program and other wage support packages in their financial reporting. ASIC also cautioned against presenting what earnings would have been, were it not for the COVID-19 crisis, given the potential to mislead.
EBITDAC? YEP, IT’S FAKE
- Companies in the US are ignoring losses resulting from the coronavirus pandemic when calculating cash flows. The novel practice – known as EBITDAC, or earnings before interest taxes, depreciation, amortization and coronavirus – has resulted in a backlash from investor advocacy group Credit Roundtable which said these calculations include many highly subjective and potentially misleading adjustments. Read more on what not to do in The Financial Times.
CORPORATIONS LAW SHOULD REFLECT DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
- Financial services companies and banks have urged the corporate regulator to apply lessons learned from the past few months and modernise laws to ensure the industry builds on digital progress made during the pandemic. Computershare chief of issuer services, Ann Bowering, said while technological strides had been made in the past three months, regulators and policymakers had to prioritise upgrading the Corporations Act. Read more in The Australian here.
A LESSON FOR AUSTRALIAN CEOs
- “Pay for performance” has been the mantra in the US over the past few decades. Now, with lockdowns and economic stagnation, bonuses, grants of stocks and options tied to performance are becoming more common. So, could this see the end of executive compensation that is out of line with performance? Read more in The Economist.
NO SURPRISES HERE: HUMAN BRAIN ISN’T CUT OUT FOR VIDEO MEETINGS
- Yes, you were right, the human brain was never designed for video meetings, according to Microsoft scientists. Not only that, they have also found that remote workers who have only ever interacted via video meetings, who later meet in person, find the in-person meeting almost as mentally taxing as a video meeting. Read more in The AFR here.
THE UNAPOLOGETIC SLOPPINESS OF THE PANDEMIC
- As our homes became our headquarters, many of us have stuck to the same sweat pants day after day. In fact, the act of putting on “real clothes” now provides a heightened sense of accomplishment. Patricia Marx at the New Yorker spoke to the working from home brigade to find out what they are wearing – and why. Read the findings here.
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