Simon Brown: Banqer CEO on the curriculum refresh focusing on financial literacy

Another Government curriculum refresh is aiming to give school kids more grasp of money management. 

The Education Minister's making financial literacy a compulsory topic for Years 1 to 10. 

The Government's teaming up with financial organisations, banks, and charities for lessons on investment and taxes. 

Banqer CEO Simon Brown told Mike Hosking that on an international level, we don’t stack up too badly, but there’s a wide variety in the level of financial education given by schools.  

He says that some schools do a great job delivering to all students, but in others financial education is completely lacking, and as a result, student preparedness is left up to chance.  

Brown believes a lot of people appreciate the importance and value of financial education, so to see this plan come to fruition is an exciting step.  

LISTEN ABOVE 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Very good news that our schools are going to be
concentrating more on financial literacy. Years one through team will
study the likes of income, spending, savings, interest, tax, insurance
in this refreshed social science program. Now financial organizations, banks
and charity is going to be taking part and Banker
a part of that. They're a CEO, Simon Brown is
with a Simon, very good morning to you. If I

(00:21):
used your name correctly, B A n Q, you are
I just you know spelling you are banker?

Speaker 2 (00:26):
Got on?

Speaker 1 (00:27):
Okay, good, got on glad. I probably shouldn't have highlighted
it because I come across as more cool if I'm
going to write first time, it's this win win. I mean,
this is a win win, isn't it?

Speaker 2 (00:36):
Absolutely? I think a lot of people appreciate the importance
and value of this. This is something that we hear
about a lot in terms of people thinking it's a
no brainer. So to say it to come to fruition,
I think is a really exciting step.

Speaker 1 (00:48):
What's your assessment if you were to be asked of
the literacy level of most kits, what would your guests
be currently varied?

Speaker 2 (00:57):
And then when you look at international research, we stack up,
not too badly, But I think in my mind it
is that variation between students. When we're in schools, working
with schools, we see a real wide variety of delivery
of financial education. Some schools do a great job delivererance
to all students. Some schools deliver it to a subject
of students, maybe common students, and then in other students

(01:19):
in other schools it's just lacking totally, which really leads to.

Speaker 1 (01:24):
Is it fair to suggest a lot of it comes
from home? In other words, Mum and Dad know what
they're doing.

Speaker 2 (01:28):
You might too, Yeah, I think so, especially if it's
not delivered in school, and increasingly so social media influencers
as well, which isn't necessarily a good thing. And I
think as a result of a lot of students preparedness
for the financial world is really left a chance at
the moment.

Speaker 1 (01:44):
What do you reckon the value of all the things
you learn at school? What do you reckon the value
of this If you can enter the world having a
basic understanding of what's good, what's not, how it pays,
et cetera, how valuable is that in life?

Speaker 2 (01:58):
I'm very biased. This is my day and day out,
but I think it's massively valuable. I put this right
up there to be honest. When you think about the
things that students can be assured to interact with and
when they leave real well, when they leave school, money
is one of the only assured things. Whether you're fortunate
enough to have a lot or maybe not so much,
you're going to have to interact with money. So being

(02:19):
prepared to do so, I think is really important.

Speaker 1 (02:22):
Yeah, from a subject point of view, what do you reckon?
It is science or an art?

Speaker 2 (02:28):
Sorry, it's cut out?

Speaker 1 (02:29):
Is it a science or an art? You're with us?

Speaker 2 (02:32):
Sorry, there's a bit of a cut out there. I
lost that last question.

Speaker 1 (02:34):
Sorry, Now is it a science or an art? The
understanding of finance?

Speaker 2 (02:38):
I think it's a science. I think when you look
at it, most of it is clearly black and white
when you understand the definitions and understand how financial concept works.
At the end of the day, human emotions do drive
a degree of financial behavior, though, so I guess from
that perspective it it's a little bit of an art.

Speaker 1 (02:57):
I'd extend to see if says one through ten. I
know they do the stuff you know eleven, twelve, and thirteen,
But i'd have it the whole way through.

Speaker 2 (03:05):
Yeah, yeah. My understanding is there is going to be
more to come in the senior school, but there's a
real focus on years one through ten given that's when
students will be doing social sciences as a compulsory subject.

Speaker 1 (03:17):
Exactly get them up to speed to start with, all right,
Simon appreciated Simon Brown, Who's the bank of CEO. For
more from the Mic Asking Breakfast, listen live to news talks.
It'd be from six am weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio.