http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/asic-snarls-at-backdoor-...

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/bus...s/news-story/196cb1b4d3fac5b19348c6e07ce4f51d

The watchdog is concerned about the methodologies sometimes employed by independent experts, and is also looking at the level of independence the experts are able to maintain from the companies and directors that appoint them.

“We have taken action where we have had concerns around independence in the past and we are in some cases reviewing samples of expert working papers to make sure the expert is not being unduly influenced,” Mr Price said. The regulator’s surveillance arm has been boosted by the introduction of its new monitoring system called Market Analysis Intelligence, or MAI.

The system is able to process vast amounts of trading data and identify suspicious trading patterns and connections between people in short periods of time, replacing the manual analysis of data which used to take weeks to perform.

The new system has offered a “quantum leap” in identifying potential incidents of insider trading.