The Social Condition Report - A Suggestion for Financial Services Businesses

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by Ian Laughlin and Hadyn Bernau

 Hadyn Bernau

In this paper authors, Ian Laughlin (Advisory Board Chairman of Blackhall and Pearl and former Deputy Chair at APRA) and Hadyn Bernau (Principal at Finity Consulting), propose that financial services companies should commission a formal Social Condition Report, to aid boards and management in performing their respective duties.

Key points

  • The Hayne Royal Commission showed institutions have failed to understand and manage relationships with society and their associated social risks.
  • This has resulted in great reputational damage and loss of social capital for those institutions.
  • ‘Social condition’ is as important as ‘financial condition’ to the success and sustainability of an institution.
  • The authors propose an annual Social Condition Report (SCR), in concept like the Financial Condition Report mandated by APRA.
  • Boards, management and regulators would benefit from the Social Condition Report.
  • The authors have written a mock SCR for a hypothetical major Australian bank.

Cover image - SCR

Media Release

Listen to Podcast

The Dialogue Podcast

Ian Laughlin and Hadyn Bernau in conversation with John Mclenaghan from the Institute Public Policy Team. The three discuss details of the Social Condition Report, how it will benefit and suspected appetite for the report from financial services businesses.

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The Dialogue is a series of papers written by actuaries and published by the Actuaries Institute. The papers aim to stimulate discussion on important emerging issues. The opinions expressed in this paper are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of either the Institute of Actuaries of Australia (the ‘Institute’), its members, directors, officers, employees, agents, or that of the employers of the author