Superannuation Governance Masterclass
The Superannuation Governance Masterclass is a series of intensive, face-to-face classroom masterclasses designed to help leaders in the superannuation industry achieve governance best practice.
In each Masterclass, a team of industry experts will dissect a key area relating to superannuation governance and use case scenarios and real-life examples to demonstrate how the governance framework is best put into practice.
There is a limit of 20 participants for each Masterclass to allow for robust discussion, and to ensure that participants have ample opportunity to ask presenters questions.
Implementing SPS 515 in light of the members’ best financial interests and other trustee duties Masterclass
APRA has been confirmed to present the first hour of the SPS 515 Masterclass, offering a valuable opportunity to hear directly from the regulator about their expectations and requirements for SPS 515. Their session will also include a brief Q&A, allowing you to ask APRA your questions directly.
APRA’s updated Prudential Standard SPS 515, effective 1 July 2025, emphasises trustees’ duty to act in members’ best financial interests. It also requires trustees to undertake a number of other initiatives around strategic and business planning and evaluation, financial resource management and expenditure management. These changes, together with increased regulatory, political, media and member scrutiny place increased pressure on trustees to justify payments made from their super funds and to demonstrate that trustees are adequately planning for the smooth running of the fund and the challenges that may lie ahead.
This practical deep dive Masterclass with Piper Alderman will provide you with practical steps for putting members front of mind in your operations and decision making, as well as practical steps for implementing a robust financial and expenditure management framework as well as the other strategic and business planning obligations required by SPS 515.
By the end of this workshop you will be able to:
- clearly understand APRA’s expectations and requirements regarding SPS 515
- take practical steps to implement a robust financial and expenditure management framework and a framework for complying with the other obligations under SPS 515
- implement effective controls to support the compliance frameworks
- apply learnings from case studies and guidelines to facilitate compliance with SPS 515 and related trustee duties including the duty to act in members’ best financial interests.
Key topics to be discussed
- Regulator expectations and requirements
Guidance and key insights for complying with SPS 515
The duties that apply to a trustee in relation to implementing SPS 515 especially in the context of making an expenditure decision
Key design principles for a robust expenditure financial and expenditure management framework and a framework for complying with the other obligations under SPS 515 around strategic and business planning – including board oversight and active monitoring and review
Implementing effective controls to support the frameworks
Practical actions to take / case studies
Presenters
Lisa-Marie McKechnie
Partner, Financial Services & FinTech, Piper Alderman
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Lisa-Marie is a leading financial services lawyer with extensive expertise in a broad range of matters impacting financial service providers across Australia and Asia Pacific. Lisa-Marie advises a wide range of financial services clients on all aspects of their operations and has specific experience assisting them with the highly technical aspects of their prudential regulation including licensing, compensation arrangements, breach reporting, data privacy, outsourcing, anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing.
Over more than two decades, Lisa-Marie has also assisted a wide range financial services clients with the complex aspects of mergers and acquisitions, insurance and investments, contracting and outsourcing including assignment and novation.
Lisa-Marie has assisted superannuation funds manage a key stakeholder in their business, its life insurer, by advising on a diverse range of matters including transition to the new design and distribution and breach reporting regimes and with complex renewal, premium adjustment and reinsurance negotiations.
Known for her strong industry profile, Lisa-Marie is regularly called upon by industry bodies the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) and the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST) to present at conferences and via in-person and on-line training sessions. Lisa-Marie was also most recently a Director on the Board of the Financial Services Accountant’s Association (FSAA) for 3 years.
Kathy Neilson
Partner, Financial Services & FinTech, Piper Alderman
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Kathy is a highly experienced financial services lawyer having spent over 12 years in private legal practice, multi-disciplinary legal practice and at the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
As a leading financial services lawyer, Kathy regularly advises clients on regulatory requirements and product disclosure requirements including in relation to compliance with all aspects of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) and APRA prudential standards. She also advises in relation to mergers and acquisitions and associated disclosure requirements. Kathy also provides advice in relation to licensing, corporate governance and ASIC and APRA applications, investigations and current regulator priorities. In addition, she has expertise in relation to privacy and anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) obligations, including conducting independent reviews of AML/CTF programs.
While at ASIC, Kathy led the review and redrafting of the Regulatory Guide 97 fees and costs disclosure regime for managed investment schemes and superannuation leading her to develop an exclusive expertise in this area.
Kathy also presents regularly with The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) to superannuation trustees on topical regulatory issues and contributes regularly to ASFA’s continuing professional development publications on topics such as cloud outsourcing, anti-money laundering, audit requirements and fees and costs disclosure.
Drawing on her diverse experience, Kathy can offer unique insights and knowledge to add value to her clients.
Who should attend?
- Trustees and directors
- CEOs, CFOs, company secretaries and senior management staff
- Compliance and risk professionals
- Those who support the board/trustee function.
How you’ll learn
Three-hour face-to-face workshop.
Register / Enrol
Pricing
Public virtual workshop
| Type | Inc. GST |
|---|---|
| Member | $880 |
| Non-member | $1025 |
CPD Points
3 Continuing Professional Development (CPD) points for members of ASFA’s Professional Accreditation Program.
For all enquiries, contact ASFA Learning.
