ob体育 is reminding all Australian Financial Services (AFS) licensees to lodge their annual financial statements and auditor reports by the due date as required under the Corporations Act 2001.
ob体育 expects all AFS licensees to comply with the financial reporting requirements within the specified timeframe. Body corporate AFS licensees that are not disclosing entities, and have a financial year ending 30 June, are required to lodge their financial accounts by 31 October 2019. Limited AFS licensees that do not deal with client money must lodge an annual compliance certificate along with a profit and loss statement and a balance sheet each financial year, also by 31 October 2019.
AFS licensees that fail to meet their obligations before the due date risk regulatory consequences.
ob体育 Commissioner Sean Hughes said, 鈥淭imely lodgement of financial statements and auditor reports with ob体育 demonstrates an AFS licensee鈥檚 capacity to comply with financial services laws. Yet, we have observed a high rate of non-compliance 鈥� a number of licensees seem to be waiting for reminders from ob体育 to adhere to this ongoing legal requirement.
鈥渙b体育 considers this an indicator of a poor compliance culture. We expect AFS licensees to have adequate policies and procedures in place to ensure they are able to meet their financial reporting obligations. ob体育 is continuing to pursue AFS licensees who don鈥檛 comply and where appropriate, we will consider taking action to suspend or cancel a licence,鈥� Mr Hughes said.
ob体育 has previously contacted a number of AFS licensees that have not met their annual financial reporting requirements and where appropriate, taken action to ensure compliance with the law. Since October 2016, ob体育 has suspended nine AFS licences and cancelled 22 AFS licences for failing to lodge their annual financial statements and auditor reports.
Background
For further information on the licence cancellations and suspensions from October 2016 to August 2019, please see the following media releases:
Financial year 2016-17
- Core聽Insurance Pty Ltd (17-008MR)
- Rebate聽Financial Services Pty Ltd 鈥� (17-081MR)
- Capstone聽Capital Pty Ltd (17-081MR)
- KABM Pty聽Ltd (17-081MR)
- Rural聽& General Insurance Broking Pty Limited聽(16-370MR and 17-102MR)
- Australia Wealth Capital Group Pty Ltd (17-123MR)
- Motorguard聽EWM Pty Ltd (17-106MR)
- DD&D Securities Ltd (17-113MR)
- Gallop International Group Pty Ltd (17-159MR)
- Group聽Underwriters & Managers Pty Ltd (16-411MR and 17-171MR)
- Investment聽Advisers Alliance Pty Ltd (17-174MR)
- Grey Oak Services Pty Ltd (17-233MR)
- Divitiarum聽Audax Pty Ltd (17-148MR)
Financial year 2017-18
- Divitiarum聽Audax Pty Ltd (17-375MR)
- Financial聽Stewards Pty Ltd (17-397MR)
- Smart Trader International Pty Ltd (18-002MR)
- Corpac聽Partners Pty Limited (18-072MR)
- Mackellar Financial Services Pty Ltd (17-375MR and 18-124MR)
- Vesta Living Communities Ltd (18-366MR )
Financial year 2018-19
- Independent聽Insurance Brokers Pty Ltd (18-224MR)
- Austplan Pty Ltd (18-323MR)
- Evermore Money Management Pty Ltd (18-382MR)
- Guarded Pty Ltd (19-156MR)
- Australasia聽Wealth Services and Management Pty Ltd (19-103MR)