11 January 2005 
 
Australians are being encouraged to take a greater interest in understanding their finances following the release of a survey which reveals that only 18 per cent of Australians can tell the difference between a franked and unfranked dividend and a meager 23 per cent feel confident reading a company balance sheet - yet 60 per cent of Australians claim to be financially literate. 
 
The survey of 1200 people, commissioned by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia, also revealed that 25 per cent of respondents ‘regularly’ source information on the financial markets while 22 per cent confessed that they never kept up-to-date.  
 
The most popular source of financial information was the media, with 80 per cent of people listing it as a “place that they gather information from”. Professional advisers came in a distant second (38%) and friends/ colleagues (36%) were also nominated as sources of financial information. 
 
Over 60 per cent of Australians agreed that they would be interested in receiving financial information and training, such as seminars or brochures, at their workplace. 
 
The Institute of Chartered Accountants Standards and Public Affairs General Manager, Mr Bill Palmer, strongly encouraged Australians to be more proactive in becoming financially literate. 
 
“The rate of share ownership by Australians is at record high. Even those who are not interested in finance are committing a minimum of 9 per cent of their salary each week into superannuation which is directly tied to the performance of companies and the financial markets – therefore all Australian have an interest understanding financial reporting,” Mr Palmer said. 
 
“People focus on what they can readily understand as evidenced by the level of discussion about executive remuneration. Whilst this is an important matter for shareholders there are many others that affect the value and return from their investments in listed companies which they should also be considering,” Mr Palmer said. 
 
Newspoll conducted the survey of 1200 adult respondents nationally .The survey examined the Australian public’s ability to understand and interpret financial information such as company annual reports, stock market information and financial information in the media. 
 
summary of key statistics  

• 60% of Australians claim to be financially literate 
  
• 18% of Australians can tell the difference between a franked and unfranked dividend 
  
• 23% of Australians feel confident reading a company balance sheet 
  
• 25% of respondents regularly source information on the financial markets  
  
• 22% of respondents don’t keep up to date on the financial markets 
  
• 80% of Australians listed the media as a place that they gather financial information  
  
• 38% of Australians listed professional advisers as a place that they gather financial information  
  
• 36% of respondents listed friends/ colleagues as a place that they gather financial information