Coms1001: Academic & Professional Assessment Answer

1IEDG

Academic & Professional Communication – Australian Stock Exchange

Task:

The following is an example of a summary article. Follow this format when writing your summary assignment. Note the way the original piece of writing is referenced in the first line of the summary. Note too how the original author’s name is kept prominent throughout the piece. These features have been highlighted in bold for emphasis only. This format helps the reader to move easily through the original ideas.

In her article ‘Insiders warned to shape up’ (The Weekend Australian, 26-27 November, 2005, Business, p. 36), Bina Brown welcomes the new focus by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) on directors who engage in insider trading. Brown begins by advising that directors who buy and sell company shares between the end of reporting and the publication of reports should be watched, in order to ensure ethical behaviour by companies.

She then points out that laws already exist that compe! directors and companies to report their activities to the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) within a certain time, but the law has not been enforced, and some directors have taken advantage of this. Brown further explains that now, as a result of the HIH collapse, major shareholders are becoming interested in the issue of insider trading and believing that they should let companies and directors know the standards of behaviour they expect of them. Shareholders’ investments are at risk if the companies are not behaving ethically. Brown says that this is of concern, in particular, in the case of companies that manage superannuation funds.

Brown then cites Erik Mather, head of BT Governance Advisory Service (BT GAS) who is concerned that the problem of late or non reporting is widespread: sixty per cent of Australia’s top 200 companies failed to report directors’ interests on time. Next she discusses a report that found companies trading when ethically they should not have been, although it is difficult to prove in this case that the directors involved were engaged in insider trading. Brown explains that BT GAS plans to meet with almost a quarter of the top 200 companies to reinforce the message of the need to comply with reporting rules. This monitoring, Brown says, will complement the awareness raising campaigns being organised by ASIC and ASX.

Brown concludes with Mather’s promise that the BT GAS study will be repeated in a year’s time to see if the awareness raising campaign has worked. Mather warns that if company directors do not perform in the area of governance, they may lose their board positions, and he also points out that some super funds have already voted off directors who were considered to be overpaid and under-performing.

N.B. Author’s name: use the full name in the first reference and thereafter the family name only, or you can alternate with ‘the author’ or ‘he’ or ‘she’ for variety. If there is no clear author, use ‘the article’ or ‘the author’ or ‘the writer’