The corporate regulator rarely lets an opportunity to demonstrate its powers go astray. So here’s the latest Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) scorecard issued last week:

During the past year ASIC has successfully prosecuted 478 company officers for 905 contraventions of the Corporations Act, and imposed fines and costs totalling more than $989,000. It has also been responsible for good behavior bonds being issued to 30 company directors, a three-month jail sentence for one director, and seven five-year disqualifications from managing corporations during the period.

The actions against company officers concerned a wide range of complaints, ranging from failure to assist in the administration of a failed company, to lodging documents with ASIC that contained false and misleading information.