PEAK ACCOUNTING BODY APPLAUDS PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION FOCUS ON DIGITAL FINANCIAL REPORTING

Chartered Accountants ANZ

Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ) welcomes the Productivity Commission launching the next stage in its consultation on five inquiries about productivity and applauds the emphasis on investigating digital financial reporting in Australia.

“Earlier this year CA ANZ met with the Productivity Commission, and is pleased to hear that our Pre-Budget Submission, as well as our policy asks ahead of the federal election outlining the need for a mandate on digital financial reporting, was compelling enough to warrant further investigation into this critical topic,” said Amir Ghandar, CA ANZ Reporting and Assurance Leader. 

“Digital reporting is an area we’ve been advocating for some time, and we’re thrilled it’s now getting the attention it has long deserved in the Australian policy landscape.

“It’s a concern that Australia has fallen behind in this space – 90 per cent of the world’s leading economies have already mandated digital reporting.

“We are living in the stone age, with Australia’s pdf and paper financial reports not much better than the papyrus paper used for accounting 7,000 years ago in terms of their communicative value for today’s retail and sophisticated investors.”

CA ANZ’s 2024 Retail Investor Confidence Survey showed 71 per cent of mum and dad investors support or strongly support a legislated mandate for digital reporting, with 90 per cent believing digital reporting will improve accessibility to financial information.

“Without a mandate on digital reporting, Australian markets and companies are effectively invisible to many international institutional investors using new AI technologies to trawl structured data sets for opportunities. It means we’re missing out on potential in flows of capital in an already very constrained global financial environment,” said Mr Ghandar.

“There are also many opportunities for digital reporting technology to streamline company reporting into government, reducing inefficiencies and duplication.”

“We urge Australian stakeholders, such as companies, investors and industry professionals, to engage with the Productivity Commission’s work, to help inform a sensible and effective transition to digital financial reporting,” said Mr Ghandar.

CA ANZ is also looking forward to engaging with the Productivity Commission on how Australia’s lagging productivity growth can be boosted by reconsidering policies regarding tax and education and how to encourage a more efficient transition to a net zero economy.

ENDS

About Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand

Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand represents nearly 140,000 financial professionals, supporting them to make a difference to the businesses, organisations and communities in which they work and live. Chartered Accountants are known as Difference Makers. The depth and breadth of their expertise helps them to see the big picture and chart the best course of action.

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