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ACCA's first centenary business seminar focused on the highly topical subject of consumer interest in financial regulation. Liam O'Reilly, Chief Executive of the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority (IFSRA) and Jonathan Westrup, of Boston University and former head of bonds and business development at NCB Stockbrokers, spoke at the debate attended by over 180 leading business people in Dublin.

Will stronger regulation of financial services benefit consumers - should we take the 'big brother' approach?

O'Reilly believes the key challenge for IFSRA is to put consumers at the heart of regulation, "In the past, there were concerns that regulation in Ireland was more about profitability than consumer protection. That has changed. Our reputation is important; IFSRA is an independent and accountable authority. We believe that a healthy financial services industry is a competitive one."

He clearly stated that the interests of consumers are at the heart of financial regulation, "through codes of conduct, the supply of relevant information to consumers and ensuring the safety and soundness of financial institutions."

IFSRA will have a difficult task keeping all parties happy, but O'Reilly is confident of success. He said that they will succeed so long as they stick to their values, "ensuring regulation is accountable, proportionate and non-bureaucratic."

He continued, "In our recently published strategy, we have outlined how, as a public interest organisation, we intend to be accountable and report on our progress."

Westrup echoed O'Reilly's comments on the importance of a regulated financial services industry in Ireland. However, he accused the houses of the Oireachtas, Ireland's National Parliament, of not taking its regulatory responsibilities seriously. In an attack on the apparent lack of interest taken by the Oireachtas Committee he commented, "The committee's level of research is scanty and the actual committee process is haphazard.

"It's difficult to imagine the Oireachtas giving IFSRA a grilling about Equitable Life or split investment trust as the Treasury Committee did in the UK. It's hard not to conclude that the Irish political system is just not interested in such work."

He acknowledged that the implementation of the strategy statement recently published by IFSRA was a step in the right direction, but ultimately the task of holding it accountable fell to the Oireachtas.

He also talked in detail on why the financial position of consumers has changed over the past few years and what the implications are for regulators. "Consumers are increasingly taking responsibility for their own financial security. The biggest change has been the major shift in pension arrangements, with consumers switching from defined benefits to defined contributions pension schemes. The problem for most consumers is getting their head round that. Financial security is a lot less clear than it used to be. Regulators need to educate consumers. And that's a big job."

Looking to the future nobody can doubt the nature of the challenge in addressing consumer interest, which Westrup summed up: "We now have an accessible single regulator in Ireland. That's a good basis. Moreover, IFSRA acts on the interests of consumers and the financial services, which is very positive. There will be regulatory failures, but at least we're now in pretty good hands."

ACCA Ireland President Anthony Harbison, who introduced the debate, noted that ACCA has long campaigned for greater transparency and takes the view that financial scandals can happen anywhere in the world, even in the world's most heavily regulated market, the US. Concluding the debate, Harbinson said, "Extra regulation needs to be carefully considered but it is critical that those stakeholders who are intended to be the beneficiaries of the extra regulatory safeguards must play a greater role in the process. We have advised our members that they can expect to face more questions about the figures in future AGMs. It's now up to stakeholders to use any new regulations to ensure that their best interests are being met."

The seminar marked the first of ACCA's worldwide centenary calendar of events. For further information on centenary events please visit www.acca100.com/acca100/events/

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