ASIC ISSUES WARNING AHEAD OF REPORTING SEASON; HOW RONALDO WIPED BILLIONS OFF COKE’S VALUE

ASIC ISSUES WARNING AHEAD OF REPORTING SEASON; HOW RONALDO WIPED BILLIONS OFF COKE’S VALUE

Welcome to this week’s business and media intelligence update.

HOW A SOCCER STAR WIPED BILLIONS OFF THE VALUE OF COKE 

Portugal’s most famous football star, Cristiano Ronaldo, wiped billions off the value of Coca-Cola in a matter of seconds when he removed two bottles of the soft drink – one of the official sponsors of Euro 2020 – from the press conference table and replaced them with a bottle of water.

With footage of the incident trending on social media, a spokesman for Coca-Cola said in a statement: “Players are offered water, alongside Coca-Cola and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, on arrival at our press conferences,” adding that people have different “tastes and needs”.

Nevertheless, the incident has now been seen as an own goal for Coca-Cola.

Ronaldo is a well-known health and fitness fanatic and with a little due diligence, Coca-Cola could easily have prevented the negative coverage and used the press conference to promote the vast array of water brands in their portfolio, such as Mount Franklin.

Further proof that highly-paid, high-profile brand ambassadors can make or break a brand – and organisations need to ensure their representatives’ values are aligned with their own before they front up.

ASIC ISSUES COVID WARNING AHEAD OF REPORTING SEASON 

As the end of the financial year approaches, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has issued a warning to company directors and their auditors to tighten up their disclosures, assumptions and estimates in light of economic uncertainties produced by the pandemic.

ASIC is recommending that companies pay close attention to factors that could affect asset values, provisioning, and assessments of solvency and going concern, in order to present a clear and understandable picture of the business and its performance to investors.

Read more in The Australian.

SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN ASX200 COMPANIES: NEW RESEARCH  

When it comes to sexual harassment issues, Australian boards tend to shy away from discussing the matter, according to new research commissioned by the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI).

The research reveals that just under 30 per cent of boards discuss sexual harassment issues when they are highlighted in the media. Less than half even list workplace sexual harassment as a regular agenda item, and fewer than one in five ASX 200 company boards have primary accountability for preventing and responding to sexual harassment.

Read the full research here.


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