ACCT20080 Ethics and Governance - Insurance Freedom Case Study Assignment Help

Executive Summary

This report uses ethical theory to critically assess, evaluate and examine the Commission’s response into the report on banking, superannuation and financial services industry. The premise of the report is to explore the theoretical frameworks and understand how it applies to the cases which were considered by the Commission. Moreover, it also presents a critical assessment of the case of Freedom Insurance and the aggressive sales tactics used by its personnel in the light of ethical theory to highlight the dilemmas surrounding it. 

Introduction

The financial industry across the globe has long come under scrutiny for engaging in malpractices and accusations of corruption which have plagued their credibility and compelled Governments to launch investigative ventures to identify instances of any wrongdoing (Viney and Phillips, 2012). The Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry presents a comprehensive examination of Australia’s banking industry as undertaken by the Commission and showcases findings that have been identified for each element of the industry. This assessment also covers recommendations for improvement, identification of causes and responses that are given as a standard measure of practice.

The key questions that were defined as the pillars of the report essentially aimed to determine wide-ranging policies that could be applied in a practical sense after exploring the issues with the current system and structures that are in place. The first critical question that the Commission set out to answer was how existing laws relating to financial institutions could be simplified so that their ultimate objectives are met. Exploring conflicts of interests is another critical element of the report as it aims to discover whether it would be appropriate to ban them altogether or introduce remuneration systems. Enhancing compliance with the law is another crucial element of the report. The key goal here is to improve the hold that regulators have over the workings of financial institutions and banking firms. Apart from the legal and regulatory implications of the report, the Committee also sought to explore ways to promote ethical leadership in financial institutions and put good governance practices in place which could in turn support the vision of promoting transparency, accountability and fairness in the finance sector.