The corporate regulator has accepted a voluntary licensing variation from the corporate finance arm of financial advice and accounting firm HLB Mann Judd, preventing the business from providing advice as an ‘independent expert’.
The licence variation comes after surveillance conducted by ASIC left the regulator unsatisfied that HLB Mann Judd Corporate Finance’s Melbourne office had met its AFSL obligations or complied with a number of regulatory guides.
Under the new licensing arrangements, HLB Mann Judd will not be able to provide independent expert reviews or valuations on corporate transactions such as “takeover bids, corporate schemes of arrangement and corporate restructures”.
The business will still be permitted to provide investigating accountant’s reports.
“AFS licensees active in the provision of independent expert reviews have heightened responsibilities as financial system gatekeepers,” said ASIC commissioner John Price.
“We will continue to monitor licensees and, where necessary, take licensing and enforcement actions.”
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