scholarly journals The professionalization of financial planning in Australia: an institutional logics perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel W. Richards ◽  
Sarath Lal Ukwatte Jalathge ◽  
Prem W. Senarath Yapa
Keyword(s):  
Financial Institutions ◽  
Financial Planning ◽  
Financial Services ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Institutional Logics ◽  
The State ◽  
Professional Status ◽  
Institutional Logic ◽  
Content Type

PurposeThis paper researches the professionalization of financial planning in Australia. The authors investigate how the institutional logic of major institutions inhibits this occupation from moving toward a professional status.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses documentary analysis of government inquiries into Australian financial services from 1997 to 2017 to ascertain the various institutional logics relating to the professionalization of financial planning. The method involves generating ideas from the data and applying an institutional logic framework to make sense of impediments to the professionalization of financial planning in Australia.FindingsThe regulator adopted a self-regulation logic that empowered financial institutions to govern financial advice. These financial institutions have a logic of profit maximization that creates conflicts of interest in financial planning. The financial planning professional bodies adopted a logic of attracting and retaining members due to a competitive professional environment. Thus, financial planners have not been defined as fiduciaries, professional standards have not increased and an ineffective disciplinary resolution system exists.Research limitations/implicationsThis research illustrates the various institutional logics that need to be addressed to professionalize financial planning in Australia. However, the data used is limited to that drawn from the parliamentary inquiries.Originality/valuePrior research on the emergence of professions such as accounting has shown that financial institutions are sites of professionalization. This research shows that financial institutions impede professionalization in financial planning. Also, where the state granted legitimacy to other professions, this research indicates that the state regulator's logic of self-regulation has not legitimized financial planning.

scholarly journals Disclosure effectiveness in the financial planning industry

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel W. Richards ◽  
Maryam Safari
Keyword(s):  
Financial Planning ◽  
Financial Services ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Influential Factors ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Financial Services Industry ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Disclosure Requirements ◽  
Financial Planners ◽  
Services Industry

Purpose Scandals in the Australian financial services industry highlight the conflicts of interest between those who provide financial advice (financial planners) and their clients. Disclosure is a potential governance tool to manage these conflicts of interest by reducing asymmetries in information. Yet, the efficacy of disclosure is questionable as scandals persist, so this paper aims to research the effectiveness of disclosure in financial planning. Design/methodology/approach This research used a qualitative approach involving the triangulation of data from parliamentary inquiries in financial services with data collected in semi-structured interviews with financial planning professionals. Findings The findings draw a clear portrayal of the disclosure requirements and illustrate how disclosure processes are onerous and complex. Starting with detangling the complex interactions between the beneficial role of disclosure in reducing information asymmetry and unethical behaviour and the detrimental effect of information overload, the authors then highlight effective disclosure techniques used by financial planners, including visualisation of material information. The study reveals that financial planners perceive their role as filtering information for clients and ensuring clients’ comprehension, due to the onerous disclosure requirements. Research limitations/implications The study is of interest to researchers, practitioners, policymakers and society as it implies that how disclosure occurs is as important as what information is disclosed. Those who wish to foster effective disclosure in the financial services industry need to consider the quantity, quality and process of disclosure. A limitation is the research focusses on financial planning practices and not client outcomes, which could be considered in future research. Originality/value The study adds to the understanding of how disclosure is used as a governance tool and how the quantity of information may impede the effectiveness of disclosure in the financial planning industry. In addition, the study identifies and elaborates on the influential factors and best practices for enhancing the disclosure effectiveness by financial planners.

The effects of IFRS adoption and firm size on audit fees in financial institutions in Ghana

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 436-453
Author(s):  
William Coffie ◽  
Ibrahim Bedi
Keyword(s):  
Financial Institutions ◽  
Firm Size ◽  
Financial Services ◽  
Audit Fees ◽  
Financial Services Industry ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Listed Firms ◽  
Ifrs Adoption ◽  
Services Industry ◽  
The Cost

Purpose This study aims to investigate the effects of international financial reporting standards (IFRS) adoption and firm size on auditors’ fees determination in the Ghanaian financial industry. Design/methodology/approach The authors use the annual report of 52 listed and non-listed firms spanning from 2003 to 2014. Guided by the hypotheses, the authors conditioned audit fees on IFRS adoption and firm size and execute robust fixed effects panel regression. Findings The results show that IFRS adoption has a positive coefficient with audit fees suggesting that the adoption of IFRS, indeed, increases the audit fees paid by banks and insurance firms, as well as the industry as a whole. The results are consistent with the idea that IFRS adoption increases auditor efforts with respect to time and complex nature of some aspect of the standards. Again, as expected, the coefficient of size is positively and significantly related to audit fees. This indicates that the size of the auditee plays a vital role in determining audit fees. Research limitations/implications The study is limited by industry (i.e. the financial services industry) and geography (i.e. Ghana). The authors propose further research that will widely consider other sectors and countries to improve the current scanty literature in this area. Besides, theoretically, the study is limited to the lending credibility theory and feels compelled to reiterate the importance of considering alternative theoretical perspective(s) in future research. Practical implications This study is significant to practitioners as it demonstrates the importance of the determinants of the auditors’ fees. It helps auditors to apply the relevant charging formula when determining audit fees, while it helps managers to improve upon the quality of reporting to control audit bill and forecasting their audit expenditure. Originality/value The results of the study extend the literature on the cost side of IFRS adoption by investigating the financial services industry and non-listed firms in a new context, i.e. a developing country where this research is uncharted. The existing studies based their analysis on either cross-section or pooled analysis and shorter post-adoption period (Cameran and Perotti, 2014). However, using an extended post-adoption period data, the authors base the study on analytical panel model, which directly examine the cost side of IFRS adoption with size as joint key explanatory variables with emphasis on financial institutions and external auditors.

Fincen requires financial institutions to obtain beneficial ownership information for legal entity customers

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 34-44
Author(s):  
Ignacio Sandoval ◽  
Charles Horn ◽  
Melissa Hall
Keyword(s):  
Financial Institutions ◽  
Financial Services ◽  
Due Diligence ◽  
Legal Entity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Financial Crimes ◽  
The Us ◽  
Beneficial Ownership ◽  
To Come ◽  
Customer Due Diligence

Purpose To provide an overview of the legal entity customer due diligence rule recently adopted by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a bureau of the US Department of the Treasury. Design/methodology/approach This paper provides an overview of the requirements of the legal entity customer due diligence rule as well as some observations regarding the scope of the rule, its interplay with other regulatory requirements, and some of the rule’s ambiguities. Findings While the preamble to the new rule suggests that FinCEN was attempting to accommodate industry concerns, the literal terms of the rule may have the opposite effect. Practical implications Although financial institutions will have until May 2018 to come into compliance with the rule’s requirements, they should begin developing the infrastructure to support compliance with the rule as soon as possible. Originality/value Practical insights into issues that financial institutions may encounter when implementing the rule’s requirements from experienced financial services lawyers.

scholarly journals Financial Inclusion of the Region: Analysis of the State and Ways of Ensuring

2019 ◽  
pp. 61-74
Author(s):  
Andrii Matkovskyi ◽  
Vitaliia Skryl ◽  
Ruslana Shtanko
Keyword(s):  
Financial Institutions ◽  
Financial Services ◽  
Rural Population ◽  
The State ◽  
Current Level ◽  
Financial Inclusion ◽  
The Media ◽  
State And Local ◽  
Urgent Action

Financial inclusion of the region is a means of making full use of the financial services industry's tools, which ultimately contributes to the long-term economic growth of the region, as it stimulates innovation, mobilizes savings and supports investment. The paper analyzes the current level of financial inclusion of the Poltava region. The study showed that the current level of financial inclusion of the Poltava region is low. Surveys of the respondents showed that there is a large disproportionate level of financial inclusion among urban and rural population. The rural population is limited in financial services. There is still a significant lack of confidence in financial institutions. All this slows down the processes of full involvement of the population in financial inclusion and creates a shadow sector. However, remediation is observed in urgent action by both the state and local authorities and financial institutions. Continuous information in the media and social networks in the future will be able to restore confidence in financial institutions and thus increase not only the level of financial inclusion, but also every inhabitant of the Poltava region.

scholarly journals A case study on business model innovations using Blockchain: focusing on financial institutions

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 335-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
JaeShup Oh ◽  
Ilho Shong
Keyword(s):  
Business Model ◽  
Financial Institutions ◽  
Financial Services ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Measurement Data ◽  
Actual Measurement ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Blockchain Technology ◽  
Insufficient Amount

Purpose Blockchain is a distributed ledger, in which the blocks containing transaction details are connected chronologically to form a series of chains, thus raising the possibility of improving the process and innovating business model for the financial institutions. The purpose of this paper is to study the actual cases of Blockchain applied in Korea in 2017, so that a vision of business model innovation of financial institutions can be drawn. Design/methodology/approach The financial institutions in Korea are in the technology verification stage to introduce Blockchain technology. Since there is an insufficient amount of actual measurement data, case study method was adopted. The authors interviewed ICT officers of major banks in Korea. The purpose of the interview was to understand the relationship between Blockchain and business models of financial institutions, and the effects and challenges that Blockchain has on the business model of financial institutions. Findings From the perspective of financial institutions, the emergence of Blockchain does not just have technical significance – emergence of highly efficient database system – but has the possibility that if the business model of existing financial intermediaries disappears or get reduced, the financial services relying on them can disappear altogether, or some of them can be replaced, and financial transaction patterns of consumers can be changed. As a case studies researched for this paper, it was discovered that the distributed characteristic of Blockchain cannot be applied when actually developing financial services.

scholarly journals Islamic Financial Services Act (IFSA) 2013 and the Sharīʿah-compliance requirement of the Islamic finance industry in Malaysia

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 94-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamad Akram Laldin ◽  
Hafas Furqani
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Financial Institutions ◽  
Financial Services ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Islamic Finance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Governance Framework ◽  
Finance Industry ◽  
Islamic Financial Institutions ◽  
Comprehensive Framework

Purpose This paper aims to observe the development of the Sharīʿah governance framework (SGF) and practice in Islamic financial institutions (IFIs) in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach The study is a qualitative-based research. It uses various documents and content analysis approach to understand and analyze the structure, process and practice of SGF in IFIs in Malaysia. Findings It is found that the Central Bank of Malaysia, Bank Negara Malaysia, has attempted to develop a comprehensive framework of Sharīʿah governance for IFIs in Malaysia. The framework governs the practice of the industry, covers stakeholders’ scope of duties and responsibilities and provides details on processes and procedures in the operations of IFIs to achieve the objective of Sharīʿah compliance. To maintain the relevance of the SGF to the needs of the industry, the framework has also been updated recently in 2017. The amendments aim to strengthen the effectiveness of Sharīʿah governance implementation within the Islamic finance industry. Originality/value This study attempts to comprehensively examine the evolution of the SGF Sharīʿah governance framework for IFIs in Malaysia. The Malaysian model of the SGF is unique and could be emulated by other countries in developing the Islamic finance industry in their respective jurisdictions.

Strategic coupling between finance, technology and the state: Cultivating a Fintech ecosystem for incumbent finance

2019 ◽  
Vol 52 (8) ◽  
pp. 1516-1538 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reijer Hendrikse ◽  
Michiel van Meeteren ◽  
David Bassens
Keyword(s):  
Financial Institutions ◽  
Economic Geography ◽  
Financial Services ◽  
The State ◽  
Financial Networks ◽  
Evolutionary Economic Geography ◽  
Evolutionary Economic ◽  
Financial Geography ◽  
Second Tier ◽  
Parent Discipline

The rise of Fintech challenges established financial centres and incumbent financial institutions to rethink their strategies to remain obligatory passage points in the age of digitizing finance. To appreciate these changes, it is important to maintain theoretical interchange between developments in financial geography and economic geography, its parent discipline. In this paper, we argue that the ways in which evolutionary economic geography impacts strategic coupling in global financial networks are crucial to grasp tomorrow’s geographies of Fintech. Through an in-depth examination of Brussels, we analyse the potential of Fintech opening a window of locational opportunity in financial services. Belgium has put together a strategy to seize this window by leveraging its politically neutral image and Brussels’ existing niche in financial collaboration and infrastructural plumbing. The latter status is exemplified by the presence of global players SWIFT and Euroclear. We analyse how Belgian entrepreneurs and politicians assess Brussels’ locational resources, and strategically couple big financial institutions with small tech startups in order to cultivate a Fintech ecosystem in the service of incumbent finance, constituting a Fin-Tech-State triangle. As such, we document and analyse how the coalescence of finance and technology offers new opportunities for second-tier financial centres, while highlighting the difficulties in reaping these in practice.

SEC asset management unit’s enforcement priorities for 2015 – conflicts of interest

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 22-25
Author(s):  
Perrie Michael Weiner ◽  
Patrick Hunnius ◽  
Sean R. Crain
Keyword(s):  
Asset Management ◽  
Hedge Funds ◽  
Financial Services ◽  
Private Equity ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Enforcement Action ◽  
Investment Companies ◽  
Equity Funds ◽  
Private Equity Funds

Purpose – To address “Conflicts, Conflicts Everywhere,” a speech at the recent IA Watch 17th Annual Compliance Conference by Julie M. Riewe, co-chief of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Enforcement Division’s Asset Management Unit (AMU). Design/methodology/approach – Provide information on the AMU’s creation, the AMU’s 2015 priorities for each of the primary investment vehicles it polices –registered investment companies; private funds (both hedge funds and private equity funds); and other client accounts, such as separately managed accounts/retail accounts – and the AMU’s central concern across all of the investment vehicles it polices: conflicts of interest. Findings – Conflicts of interest will be receiving much attention from the Commission in the coming months. In order to help avoid an SEC inquiry or, worse yet, an enforcement action, corporations and individuals should seek counsel. Originality/value – Practical explanation and guidance from experienced securities and financial services lawyers.

Managing competing logics through situational irony

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 649-678
Author(s):  
Erik Wikberg ◽  
Niklas Bomark
Keyword(s):  
Institutional Logics ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Institutional Pressures ◽  
Institutional Logic ◽  
Organizational Field ◽  
Organizational Fields ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cultural Project ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to extend the literature on how actors manage competing logics in an organizational field. The authors do so by introducing the concept of organizational irony to the literature on how to manage competing logics, and analyze a collaborative cultural project encompassing actors subjected to competing institutional logics. Design/methodology/approach – The case study is built on qualitative data from in-depth interviews, newspaper articles and observations. Findings – The authors describe and analyze a cultural project encompassing actors subjected to competing institutional logics and show how they responded to institutional pressures in their environment with the use of organizational irony. Thereby, the actors could collaborate with actors subjected to a competing institutional logic and still maintain adherence to their respective institutional logic. Research limitations/implications – Most studies of how to manage competing logics asserts that one logic will prevail over a competing one, either through “battles” or gradual dominance (Reay and Hinings, 2009). This study supports and adds to Reay and Hinings’ (2009) finding that actors also can collaborate and maintain adherence to their respective logic under such circumstances. In particular, it supports two identified mechanisms of how this can be achieved, namely, to separate decisions and to jointly innovate in experimental sites. It also adds to these mechanisms by showing that this can be done through the use of organizational irony. The authors only study one cultural project in one organizational field. It remains unclear if these findings are common in other cultural projects or in other organizational field, and the authors therefore encourage other researchers to extend or challenge the findings of this study. Practical implications – The authors believe that the analysis and findings can be useful for politicians to take into account and address either to minimize the risk of organizational irony or on the contrary encourage it as a source of reflexive critique of society and cultural politics. The authors also believe that the response of organizational irony to institutional pressures broadens the acting space of cultural actors, provide media and critics with an analytical tool to analyze and deconstruct practices that otherwise would risk to be silenced or neglected. Finally, the authors believe that an analysis of organizational irony has the potential to make people attend to contradictions and multiple meanings in the artworks under study in a novel way. Originality/value – The paper provides an intriguing and complex empirical case to demonstrate how actors manage competing logics in an organizational field through the production of organizational irony. The authors believe that its theoretical contributions and practical implications can inspire future research on how paradoxes can be managed through the use of organizational irony in other projects and organizational fields.

COMMERCIAL THEATRE AND PROFESSIONALIZATION IN LATE IMPERIAL RUSSIA

2005 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 1025-1053 ◽  
Author(s):  
MURRAY FRAME
Keyword(s):  
Self Regulation ◽  
The State ◽  
Professional Status ◽  
Occupational Groups ◽  
Late Imperial ◽  
Imperial Russia ◽  
State Involvement ◽  
Commercial Theatre ◽  
The Government

This article investigates the attempt by Russian theatre people to ‘professionalize’ their vocation during the late tsarist period. It argues that theatrical professionalization differed from standard paradigms because fundamentally it was designed to address material impoverishment, rather than to protect existing occupational privileges. Theatre people believed that ‘professional’ status would defend them from the effects of the burgeoning commercial entertainment market. Thus they represented the gradual ‘democratization’ of the professional ideal, its diffusion amongst occupational groups not traditionally classified as ‘professions’. From 1894, a national regulatory association, the Russian Theatre Society, represented theatre people's interests and persuaded the government to subsidize its activities. Yet the boundaries between state involvement and self-regulation were never clearly defined, creating an underlying tension within the Society about the extent of its relations with the state, a problem that was exposed during the 1905 revolution.

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