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For more than a decade, the Financial Technology (FinTech) industry has been growing, and it has reshaped how payments were made and brought new financial service products to the market. FinTech has created innovative disruptions to traditional, long-established financial institutions (e.g., banks and investment firms) in financial services markets. The worldwide blooming of FinTech has caused universities around the globe to teach their students (particularly those in the IT and finance disciplines) about practical and contemporary knowledge on FinTech. This paper discusses our recent survey study to investigate the status quo of offering FinTech education and training by Australian universities. Our study involved two rounds of online data collection (one in November 2021 and the other one in June 2022) from 41 sample universities in Australia. Among our various findings, we observed that, although Australian universities are increasingly aware of the importance of and the demand for FinTech studies, FinTech has still not yet become a mainstream study discipline. This observation indicates that, in Australia, FinTech studies have generally gone through the inception stage and entered the growth stage.

The Bradley Review in 2008 and the Australian government's response echoed policy concerns that young people from low socioeconomic status are underrepresented in tertiary education. In order to address this, responses to both recruitment and retention are necessary. While many studies have looked at reasons for student attrition, few investigated the factors that enabled students from low socio-economic status (SES) backgrounds to stay in university. Over 1,000 domestic undergraduate students at the University of Queensland completed an online survey, in which students from low SES backgrounds were compared with students who were not. It was found that while most students experienced a combination of financial, relationship, mental and physical health stress, students from low SES backgrounds experienced more stressors as well as higher levels of stress. While the majority of respondents were aware of student support services, these did not appear to be a major influencing factor on students' reported decisions to stay at university.

The valuable social and economic contribution of financial counselors receives little public attention, as discourse related to consumer credit and debt invariably focuses on the impacts of consumer defaults for consumers and the broader community. Policy makers and organizations sustaining the work of financial counselors must ensure they care for the wellbeing of the counselors who assist consumers facing financial over commitment. The study was undertaken in New South Wales (NSW), the most populous Australian state. Questionnaires were mailed to 260 financial counselors. A response rate of over 46% (N = 120) enabled detailed statistical analysis which included analysis of variance and multiple regression. The findings highlighted a number of issues relevant to continuing education and planning for financial counseling services including increasing workload, difficulties liaising with external organizations, rural counselors' isolation from support mechanisms and an aging workforce. (Contains 6 tables.)

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate and identify threshold concepts that are the essential conceptual content of finance programmes. Design/Methodology/Approach: Conducted in three stages with finance academics and students, the study uses threshold concepts as both a theoretical framework and a research methodology. Findings: The study identifies ten threshold concepts in finance that are clearly endorsed by finance academics. However, the extent to which students are explicitly aware of the threshold concepts in finance is limited. Research Limitations/Implications: As well as informing further research into the design and delivery of finance programmes, the findings of the study inform the use of threshold concepts as a theoretical framework and a research methodology. The study does not explore the bounded, discursive, reconstitutive and liminal aspects of threshold concepts. Implications include the lack of recognition of more modern concepts in finance, and the need for input from industry and related disciplines. Practical Implications: The threshold concepts in finance provide the starting point for finance educators in the design and delivery of finance programmes. In particular, the threshold concepts in finance need to be made more explicit to students. Social Implications: Using the threshold concepts in finance as well as the other findings of this study to inform to finance curriculum design and delivery is likely to achieve better quality educational outcomes for finance students as well as better prepare them for professional finance roles. Originality/Value: The finance curriculum is under researched and for the first time this study identifies the threshold concepts in finance to inform the design of finance programmes.

The role of universities in preparing students to use spreadsheet and other technical software in the financial services workplace has been investigated through surveys of university graduates, university academics, and employers. It is found that graduates are less skilled users of software than employers would like, due at least in part to a lack of structured formal training opportunities in the workplace, and a lack of targeted, coherent learning opportunities at university. The widespread and heavy use of software in the workplace means that there is significant potential for productivity gains if universities and employers address these issues.

In July 2010, the faculties of Law, Business and Economics, and Medicine at Monash University, Australia commenced placing law, finance, and social work students in a multidisciplinary clinic at a community legal service operated by the University. Students from the three disciplines began seeing legal service clients at the same time as a team. Clients who agreed to participate were interviewed by the team of students made up of the three disciplines in order to address client issues holistically. This article canvasses some of the perceived learning benefits of this project for students and their supervisors. It investigates how and why supervision within this clinic is a unique experience for students and supervisors alike. It raises the issues of dealing with the different ethical and professional guidelines of the three disciplines. Ultimately, we conclude that multidisciplinary training may have a wide range of advantages for all parties. (Contains 2 footnotes.)

Software, particularly spreadsheet software, is ubiquitous in the financial services workplace. Yet little is known about the extent to which universities should, and do, prepare graduates for this aspect of the modern workplace. We have investigated this issue through a survey of financial services employers of graduates, the results of which are reported in this paper, as well as surveys of university graduates and academics, reported previously. Financial services employers rate software skills as important, would like their employees to be more highly skilled in the use of such software, and tend to prefer "on-the-job" training rather than university training for statistical, database and specialized actuarial/financial software. There is a perception among graduates that employers do not provide adequate formal workplace training in the use of technical software.

Despite indications of the problematic nature of "laissez faire" capitalism, such as the convictions of corporate leaders and the global financial crisis that appeared to largely stem from a de-regulated financial services industry, it seems clear that societies and environments continue to be strongly influenced by hyper-economized worldviews and practices. Given the importance of societal acceptance of a potentially dominant ideological perspective, it is logical to assume that it would be critical for students to be prepared to function in niches prioritizing unrestricted for-profit commodity exchanges. Indeed, in their article in this issue, Lyn Carter and Ranjith Dediwalage appear to support this claim in their analyses of the large-scale and expensive Australian curriculum and instruction project, "Sustainability by the Bay". More specifically, they effectively demonstrate that this project manifests several characteristics that would suggest "neoliberal" and "neoconservative" influences--ideological perspectives that they argue are largely fundamental to the functioning of the global economic system. In this forum article, possible adverse effects of neoliberalism and neoconservatism on school science are discussed--with further justification for Carter and Dediwalage's concerns. Additionally, however, this article raises the possibility of subverting neoliberalism and neoconservatism in science education through application of communitarian ideals.

In the five years leading up to 2002 there were many significant changes in the insurance industry in Australia that brought about a range of training needs. These training needs arose from matters as diverse as mergers, increased competition, corporate failures, and legislative changes. This study includes findings from a survey of the insurance industry in Australia in the period 2000-2002 as a means of exploring the importance of the environment (marketplace) in predicting aspects of training needs. The findings demonstrate that an environmental analysis approach to training needs analysis can predict the type of training that organisations will subsequently need to provide, and thus has the potential to produce a more accurate assessment of training needs in the future. It also has the potential to contribute to the economic success of businesses operating in the financial services industry.

From Re Stringer (1877) to Peekay Intermark Ltd v Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (2006), the contractual estoppel has consistently held partiesto contractual terms, including the assumed state of affairs. Against wider thinking that there is no theoretical basis to contractual estoppel, this article argues, by examining relevant case law, that voluntary undertaking or mutual assent of the parties best espouses the underlying principle that prevents either parties from asserting different facts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the practices of Australian and German financial service providers regarding the implementation of shop-floor control within different types of service systems. The results delivered in this article should serve as a guideline for future research to develop and adapt methods for shop-floor control in financial service systems. Interviews with 25 experts from the Australian and German financial services industry reveal novel insights into the practice of shop-floor control, suggesting that methods and concepts from manufacturing are only used to a limited extent for shop-floor control. Shop-floor control is mostly used to react quickly to unexpected deviations due to a low usage of forecasts and information systems. Thus, there seems to be improvement potential in the financial services industry in comparison with in the manufacturing industry in terms of shop-floor control. Further research within the production research area should use the empirical insights to test and adapt existing methods and to develop new ones, taking cultural differences into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most people need professional advice to navigate complex financial markets. However, information asymmetry between adviser and client makes the assessment of advice difficult, and is exacerbated when providers are motivated by self‐interest. This undermines the effectiveness of the financial system. New regulations aim to mitigate such issues, prohibiting some conflicts of interest and imposing educational requirements and a code of ethics for financial advisers practising in Australia. An Australian case study highlights the main ethical issues and suggests that the lens of virtue ethics can assist the development of more appropriate financial advice, and inform further regulatory developments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why are more and more companies voluntarily issuing costly, potentially exposing standalone sustainability reports on environmentally and socially problematic issues? Using legitimacy theory, this study analyses ways companies seek to strategically enhance legitimacy by leaning towards either 'representative' reporting of both favourable and unfavourable information especially in an industry's highest impact domains, or 'greenwashing' (including whitewashing non‐environmental issues), which downplays unfavourables and high‐impact domains and highlights favourable but less relevant points. Content analysis compared Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI) reports from 2011 to 2019 by Australian financial services companies (107 reports) and mining and metals companies (122). Specifically, to critique reporting quality in fine grain, it disaggregated results into levels (from omission to full quantitative treatment) of disclosure of good/bad/neutral news indicators and violation‐related/non‐violation‐related ones and identified highest impact domains. Neither industry's reporting was very representative. Relatively though, mining and metals leant towards representation: fuller disclosure on environmental aspects (its highest impact domain), including unfavourables: bad and violation‐related indicators. Financial services companies only led in disclosing neutral social indicators, not bad or violation‐related ones, so leant towards greenwashing. Results also suggest that after the GRI clarifying materiality principle in 2016, financial services disclosure quality dropped further by de‐emphasising environmental without lifting social disclosures, while mining and metals' stayed unchanged. The results confirm and better specify widely indicated reporting weaknesses, contributing to content analysis methodology and legitimacy theory. This arms guideline setters, investors and other stakeholders to better evaluate/design reports and might encourage firms to voluntarily improve disclosures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article builds on industry data and a unique dataset of small and medium-sized merchants to provide insights into the acquirer-merchant market in Canada. Three main findings are presented. First, smaller merchants pay their acquirer more for every dollar of card payment than larger merchants. Second, this finding is mainly explained by high fixed costs. Third, the acquiring market in Canada is concentrated and has remained fairly stable since 2010. These findings could be relevant for other countries with mature card payments systems such as the US and Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lack of effective competition and systemic misconduct in the Australian financial system has been the subject of recent examination and recommendations of the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry and the Productivity Commission's two inquiries into the efficiency and competitiveness of the superannuation system and competition in the Australian financial system. This is at a time when the Australian financial and superannuation systems represent $7.6 trillion in assets and account for over 9 per cent of the Australian economy, whilst their services and products impact the wellbeing of all Australians. In this paper three public policy areas are examined: why Australia's financial system is today characterised by ineffective competition and unfair consumer outcomes, reflections on the institutional failures and system wide shortcomings revealed by the respective Commissions of inquiry, and considerations for how to arrive at the right future policy settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A key theme of Global Restructuring (R. H. Fagan and M. Webber. 1994. Global Restructuring: The Australian Experience. Melbourne: Oxford University Press) is the dramatic rise of financial capital flows into and out of Australia commencing with the financial deregulation measures of the early 1980s. The book’s concern is with the impacts of this deregulation on the materials sectors of the Australian economy, chiefly on the food, manufacturing and minerals sectors. In the book’s back story, the Australian banks emerge as institutions able to appropriate value from the overall package of changes. This paper looks at aspects of the Australian financial sector 20 years on from the Fagan and Webber analysis. Reflecting on data collected after 1994 the paper outlines key changes in the industry mix within the Australian economy and, in particular, the rise of financial and business services. In so doing it assesses the shifts in the financial and business services sector that have occurred since the time of Global Restructuring and presents an analysis of these shifts in the context of the rise of international financial services centres, especially in the Asian region. Based on these findings and assessments, the paper proposes a research agenda for scholars interested in the competitiveness of Australian firms, especially in the context of opportunities for financial services growth within the wider region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) aims to regulate poor corporate culture in the financial services industry. This article critically analyses the regulator’s ongoing statements about corporate culture o f financial institutions. Unlike the UK, Australia has not legislated or implemented any regulation to address the issues. The following research will offer insight to regulatory solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Segmentation and targeting are cited as being a core part of marketing strategy for any organisation. While there has been much written on brand segmentation, product segmentation research has not been common. This paper examines whether different types of customers buy different banking products. A sample of 52,000 Australian households and 12,000 in New Zealand from the Roy Morgan Single Source Survey was utilised to profile users of different banking products on offer. The results indicated that there is some segmentation or partitions evident in a limited number of banking products; for the most part there was little difference in customer profile across comparable products offered by Australian and New Zealand banks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the use of financial services law (securities regulation) to regulate and to reduce emissions trading to reduce the causes of climate change-with reference to Australia's use of financial services law from 2012. The Australian financialization model, introduced by the previous Australian (Australian Labor Party) government, is planned to be repealed in mid-2014 (depending on votes in the upper house of the Australian parliament) by the conservative (Liberal-National Party coalition) government as its 'first order of business'. At the time of writing in April 2014, the carbon price is in full operation. The government won office in September 2013, partly in the wake of an electoral backlash against the 'carbon tax'. Australia's climate change model was based on defining emission reduction units as financial products under the Corporations Act, which resulted in the regulation of the market for trading emissions reductions becoming the responsibility of the financial services regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. This article examines the financial services model which treats emissions as financial products, regulated by financial services laws which provide inter alia for trading on regulated markets, the licensing of advisers, the expectation of high standards for secondary trading, the recognition of consumer rights under consumer laws and the continuous disclosure of information to financial markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which inertia is distinct from calculative commitment and to extend the knowledge on these constructs in the corporate financial services context in Australia. The study proposes and empirically analyses a research model that considers switching costs as an antecedent to inertia and calculative commitment. Design/methodology/approach -- An e-mail URL-embedded web questionnaire was used to collect data online from responding organisations. The psychometric properties of the measures were analysed using confirmatory factor analysis, and the hypothesised relationships among the latent constructs were estimated using structural equation modelling. Findings -- The variance-extracted test established discriminant validity between inertia and calculative commitment. Switching costs affected both inertia and calculative commitment differently. Research limitations/implications -- The measurement scales should be subjected to further assessment before drawing conclusions on their construct validity. The findings support the contention that inertia occurs from high search and learning costs associated with transaction account products, and that calculative commitment is caused by the existence of sunk costs. Practical implications -- Managers should be cautious in employing barriers as mechanisms for customer retention, because calculatively committed customers might be behaviourally loyal only for as long as it is instrumentally rewarding to be so. However, dissatisfied customers often can become involved in inert buying patterns. Originality/value -- This paper is an important initial step in highlighting the extent to which inertia is distinct from calculative commitment, in addition to providing a measure of inertia. Paper type Research paper [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - This purpose of this paper is to respond to calls for further research into consumer pre-purchase decision-making, and investigate the factors that cause a customer to make a decision to save for retirement. Design/methodology/approach - Exploratory research using eight focus groups was undertaken in Sydney, Australia with a total of 55 participants. The data were analysed using the approach suggested by Cresswell and includes coding into chunks, development of themes, interpreting, and validating findings. Findings - Three key findings emerged from the research. First, there are certain internal, external, and risk factors that have a major impact on propensity to save for retirement. These are: involvement level, motivation, needs and wants, family influence, marketer influence, competitive options, financial risk, functional risk, and psychological risk. Second, no clear and universal gender differences in the pre-purchase decision-making process emerged during the focus group discussions. Finally, alternative options for spending and addressing risk negatively influence pre-purchase decision-making and therefore the desire or ability to save. Research limitations/implications - This study is constrained by its exploratory nature. Consequently, future research could utilise quantitative methodology to confirm findings and allow generalisation of results. Also, a study incorporating ethnicity would add breadth to the findings. Practical implications - Managers and policy makers benefit from understanding that marriage and turning 40 years old are highly influential to a consumer's likelihood to save for their retirement. This information is particularly useful for the development of marketing and communication campaigns. Originality/value - This is the first exploratory study of pre-purchase decision-making which researches the triggers for buying complex financial services associated with saving for retirement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the current position and potential problems in the Australia-China financial service trade. The world's financial service trade is underdeveloped compared with world merchandise trade. Similarly, the Australia-China financial service trade is also underdeveloped compared with bilateral merchandise trade. The major reasons lie with the late development of bilateral financial service trade, weak promotion by the Australian Government and China's immature legal and market system. The conclusion offers suggestions on how both sides might achieve success in the area of financial service trade in the negotiation of a bilateral free-trade agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents the findings of a survey carried out among the financial directors of leading retail companies in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and the UK. The purpose of the survey was to determine those factors that influence the development of financial services within retail organizations. Considers the introduction of financial services, within the context of retailers' relationships with their customers, and retailers' ability to build closer relationships with existing and potential customers. Financial service provision is, therefore, considered in the context of the relationship marketing paradigm. Considers the opportunities which financial services provide for retailers to move from a transactional to relationship approach to marketing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Generate a list of service guidelines to enable financial planners to better accommodate the needs of their older clients.Focus groups and a national telephone survey were conducted with Australian seniors to generate 10 service guidelines for financial planners.The issues covered by the 10 guidelines are considered highly important by Australian seniors, with some apparent differences in ratings between older and younger seniors.Seniors have specific attributes they require in financial planners. In particular, they seek trusting relationships and wish to be treated with dignity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]