Proving CLERP 9 is going to be a nasty law to deal with, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has issued two policy statements and two practice notes to explain the new requirements of the Corporate Law Economic Reform Program (Audit Reform and Corporate Disclosure) Act 2004 (CLERP 9).

ASIC Executive Director of Policy and Markets Regulation Malcolm Rodgers says ASIC has established an online registration system to support the new registration process for individual company auditors and for companies to apply for registration as authorised audit companies.

And it’s not only auditors who will be under the gun when CLERP 9 comes into effect. In a bulletin to its clients discussing CLERP 9, mega-broker Marsh says that with such a substantial range of advice available to assist those responsible for ensuring high corporate governance standards and effective risk management, it will be difficult for directors of companies with poor corporate governance standards to justify their performance.