ASIC has released two regulatory guides updating its policy on independent expert reports.

These are Regulatory Guide 111 [RG 111] and Regulatory Guide 112 [RG 112].

RG 111 focuses on reports prepared for transactions under Chs 5, 6 and 6A of the Corporations Act, whether the reports are required by the Corporations Act or are commissioned voluntarily. The Guide addresses the issues reports are required to consider to satisfy the Corporations Act.

RG111 also observes that : An expert report should only contain information that relates directly to the decision to be made by security holders. Including extraneous information in an expert report undermines the effectiveness of that report.

We encourage an expert to consider preparing a concise or short form expert report. The commissioning party would make a longer expert report containing additional, more technical or detailed information available on request free of charge or ensure it is accessible online.

RG 112 discusses how previous and existing relationships with commissioning and other interested parties may affect the independence of an expert  and how an expert should deal with the commissioning party and other interested parties to maintain its independence.