Contact: Rod Smith
Deloitte
Lead Partner - Assurance & Advisory
(02) 9322 5608

Contact: Vessa Playfair
Deloitte
Director of Communications
0419 267 676

Professional services firm Deloitte announced today that Greg Pound, currently ASIC’s Chief Accountant, will be joining the firm on a part-time basis as its Director, Regulatory Affairs on July 4 2005.

Mr Pound who has been Chief Accountant with ASIC since 2002 is currently a member of the Financial Reporting Council, the AASB and the AuASB Consultative Groups. He is considered one of Australia’s leading authorities on auditing and financial reporting and has been an instrumental player in a large number of activities including committees and taskforces for the key professional accounting bodies in Australia, ICAA, CPA Australia and the NIA as well as academic institutions and industry organisations. He has also authored over 100 articles and a text book on Australian auditing.

Deloitte’s leader of the Audit and Assurance practice Rod Smith welcomed Greg Pound’s appointment and highlighted the key role that firms such as Deloitte are now playing in the ongoing development of the regulatory framework, so important to the credibility of the capital markets.

"Greg Pound has been a leader in the development of Australia’s reputation as a well regulated capital market in terms of high quality financial reporting and auditing," he said.

"Greg will play a number of important roles at Deloitte including helping our clients manage their regulatory affairs and compliance as well as advising Deloitte internally on its regulatory affairs.

"He will assist us enhance the regulatory framework in terms of policy development and implementation, with the view to improving its efficiency and effectiveness so that outcomes for business and the wider community are maximised," he said.

"Managing regulatory complexity and regulatory risk in an effective and transparent way, can enhance an organisations competitive advantage, delivering improved performance and credibility," said Greg Pound.

"Regulators around the world are willing to improve and refine their systems to ensure the regulatory objective is achieved in the public interest. The recent decisions in the US by the SEC and the PCAOB re SOX 404 are a good example of the dynamics of the regulatory process and how the regulatory system will respond to concerns about efficiency and costs," he continued.

"I am delighted to be coming to Deloitte, a firm I chose because of its size, global reach and its ongoing response to a continually changing regulatory environment. At a personal level, the firm’s people focussed culture, the calibre of its partners and their appreciation and commitment to the role the audit function plays in the accountability process were important factors in my decision.

"Most of all I see the opportunity to bridge the gap between the private sector and regulators, whereas in fact there is a mutuality of interest. I hope to generate an understanding and appreciation of that by encouraging the management of regulatory risk in a positive manner that achieves positive outcomes for both parties," he finished.