Chairman's message
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Prof Michael Lavarch
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This year there have been a number of significant steps taken by the Board of the BFSO to ensure the quality of the work undertaken by the Scheme remains of a high standard.
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Audit of Scheme decision making
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The Board commissioned an independent audit of the Scheme’s decision making. This audit follows previous audits conducted in 1995 and 1999.
The Board engaged Mark Sneddon, one of Australia’s leading experts in electronic commerce, to undertake the audit. The Board was delighted with the auditor’s findings that the quality of investigations and findings had improved since the last audit in 1999 despite an increase in the difficulty and complexity of disputes.
The auditor’s observations affirmed improvements in the Scheme’s processes and procedures in recent years and the strong emphasis the Scheme has always placed on a comprehensive quality assurance process.
The Board has recently commissioned a stakeholder survey which will commence later in 2006. The survey will measure public awareness of the Scheme and member and consumer satisfaction. I look forward to reporting on the results of the Survey in due course.
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Financial Ombudsman Service
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During the year in review, a number of joint projects undertaken with the Insurance Ombudsman Service and the Financial Industry Complaints Service have come to fruition. I am pleased with the cooperative approach the three Schemes have adopted toward working together and look forward to continuing to work with other schemes in the financial services sector to further develop the joint Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) initiative.
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Changes to the Board
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This year the Board farewelled Carolyn Bond, one of our longest serving consumer Directors. I would like to thank Carolyn for her dedication and service to the Scheme since she joined the Board on 11 December 2001. I thank Carolyn in particular for her service as a member of the Finance Committee of the Board.
I welcome Jan Pentland who has been appointed as a consumer Director to replace Carolyn. Jan brings considerable experience in the consumer advocacy movement to the Board and we look forward to her contributions to the work of the Scheme.
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Congratulations to Colin Neave
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I would like to congratulate the Ombudsman, Colin Neave, on celebrating his tenth year in office this year. Colin’s outstanding leadership has seen the Scheme grow and respond to the challenges of a rapidly changing financial services environment. On behalf of the Board, I thank Colin for his dedicated service to the Scheme over the past decade.
I would like to thank all the BFSO Board for their commitment and service to the Scheme over the past year. I also extend my thanks to the BFSO team for the professionalism and enthusiasm they continue to bring to the operation of the Scheme.
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