ethnic and cultural organisations, to seek their help in distributing information to local communities. Brochures on affinity fraud and investment can be ordered from the Commission, or downloaded from our website. Investment education for young people The other project is a joint venture with Enterprise New Zealand Trust, which runs a comprehensive financial literacy programme in New Zealand schools. This programme has gained NCEA accreditation. The Commission is sponsoring the programme's savings and investment module for three years and is also funding the development and implementation of a paper in Financial Studies for more senior students. This will form part of the Enterprise New Zealand Trust's Enterprise Certificate. "By supporting the work of Enterprise New Zealand Trust, we hope to contribute to a generation of young people who are knowledgeable about investing in securities," says Jane Diplock. The Commission will undertake other targeted education projects in the current financial year. Enforceable Undertakings Enforceable undertakings offer a relatively quick and cost effective way to resolve breaches of securities law, usually without the need for court action. However, the undertakings can subsequently be enforced by the courts, and the Commission also reserves the right to take other action as required. Enforceable undertakings have been used in a number of cases where the Commission was of the opinion that advertisements for securities did not comply with the law. There has also been an instance where a valuation statement provided to potential investors was deficient in information. The following undertakings, recently accepted by the Commission, are posted on our website. Prudential Mortgage Limited 17 March 2004 Asset Finance Limited 26 March 2004 Secure Property Investments Limited 8 April 2004 TSB Bank Limited 7 May 2004 Kiwibank Limited 18 June 2004
		IOSCO Annual Conference 2004 The International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) held its 29th Annual Conference in Amman on 17-20 May 2004. Attended by some 500 securities regulators from around the world, the conference was hosted by the Jordanian Securities Commission. H.M. King Abdullah II chaired the opening ceremony. Financial Fraud A special Chairmen's Task Force was established earlier this year in response to recent high-profile, global financial and securities fraud scandals, particularly the Parmalat affair. An interim report by the Task Force on strengthening securities markets against financial fraud was delivered at the conference. Many of the issues identified are already being addressed by IOSCO projects and work programmes, such as IOSCO's Principles for Auditor Oversight and Principles of Auditor Independence. The Task Force is preparing a final report which will recommend projects to assess and improve implementation of existing regulatory principles, or develop new principles, as appropriate. Credit Rating Agencies Recent financial scandals have also focussed attention on credit rating agencies. Commissioner Roel Campos of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission reported on the development of a Code of Conduct for Credit Rating Agencies. IOSCO published a set of principles relating to credit rating agencies in October 2003, following detailed research on their operations in different countries. The new code will provide guidance on how these principles should be implemented. The code will address issues such as: how rating agencies ensure the quality and integrity of the rating process; how rating agencies address potential conflicts of interest; and how investors can compare the 'track records' of different rating agencies when assessing how much weight to give a particular rating. The code is expected to be completed by September 2004, after public consultation. Client Identification IOSCO members endorsed the Principles on Client Identification and Beneficial Ownership for the Securities Industry at the conference. Robust standards of client identification are important in protecting investors, ensuring the markets are fair, efficient and transparent, and preventing the illegal use of the securities industry. During the public sessions of the conference, expert panels discussed: regulation of collective investment schemes; international convergence and public oversight of accounting and auditing standards; securities market price formation mechanisms; and mergers, demutualization and governance of securities exchanges. The Commission participated in meetings of the Executive Committee, the Asia-Pacific Regional Committee and the Presidents' Committee. As a signatory to the IOSCO Multilateral Memorandum Concerning Consultation and Cooperation and the Exchange of Information, the Commission also took part in a meeting of the IOSCO MOU Monitoring Group. A live webcast of the public presentations and discussions can be viewed at www.iosco.org. The final communiqué of the conference and related press releases are available under the international section of our website www.seccom.govt.nz. All IOSCO publications are available at www.iosco.org.

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