Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) Chairman James Shipton has highlighted the importance of the regulator’s work on misconduct issues, in his first appearance before the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services.

“For there to be appropriate accountability in the regulatory framework, penalties must be appropriate and ASIC’s enforcement toolkit should be as complete as possible,” he said.

“I look forward to further discussions about these issues following the release of the Enforcement Review Taskforce’s report.”

Mr Shipton, who began a five-year tenure this month, says every cent in the financial system is “other people’s money”.

“We must never forget that financial risks can, and often are, catastrophic to real people and can, at an extreme, cause human suffering,” he said.

Mr Shipton also highlighted ASIC’s work lifting professional, ethical and competency standards among financial planners, and the regulator’s involvement in the parliamentary committee’s current inquiry into the life insurance sector.