ASIC singles out liquidators, directors

ASIC has conceded it would like to have done more and acted more quickly in prosecuting misconduct by liquidators and directors.

ASIC chairman Tony D'Aloisio has conceded the corporate watchdog would like to have done more and acted more quickly in prosecuting misconduct by liquidators and directors.

But he denied that the Australian Securities and Investments Commission was focused on high-profile cases at the expense of prosecuting small-time directors who presided over repeated small corporate collapses and established so-called "phoenix" companies that then collapsed again.

Mr D'Aloisio was noncommittal on proposals to force liquidators to apply for licences, or to subject themselves to interviews as they sought qualification to become liquidators.

Appearing at a Senate inquiry in Canberra into Liquidators and Administrators, Mr D'Aloisio said that while ASIC was not seeking additional powers to police liquidators, there was room for improvement in areas such as transparency of fees and the independence of practitioners.

The inquiry was set up in the wake of high-profile cases of misconduct by liquidators, including NSW practitioner Stuart Ariff, who was banned for life last year and ordered to repay $4.9 million to companies that had been placed under his charge.

Mr D'Aloisio was pressed by Liberal Senator Connie Fierravanti-Wells on whether ASIC was more focused on big corporate failures at the expense of tracking down small-time directors who repeatedly failed to pay creditors.

However, he replied: "We actually don't prioritise our resources on the basis of saying, `we'll devote this to the big end of town'."