There are international standards for accounting and money management which Pell says he’s introducing to the Vatican, such as regular independent audits.

‘‘We will be streamlining and improving budget procedures, we hope returning, within financial parameters, a whole lot of authority to the different congregations and councils,’’ he says.

Corporate reform usually includes a bit of sacrifice and Pell confirms that it will be a leaner, but not meaner, Vatican after his reforms.

‘‘That's certainly the ambition,’’ Pell says. ‘‘For example, we've got a big number of people in many different places working under the heading of human resources. We've got quite a number of people in different groups working on investment strategies. They are the two immediate areas where slowly and over the long term there will be reductions in staff.’’ 

He did confirm there will be no Jack Welch-style purges – not that he was familiar with the legendary GE boss.

‘‘I'm not sure who Jack Welch is, but the Holy Father doesn't want that and we won't work like that ... No, there'll be no big purge.’’

He displayed a better knowledge of political leaders though, and used one in particular to explain how better financial management will help the church to help the poor. 

‘‘I remember Margaret Thatcher's comment, that the Good Samaritan, if he hadn't been a little bit of a capitalist, had his own store of money, he couldn't have helped. We can do more if we generate more.’’

Gathering of Wisdom

The Commonwealth Bank executive who oversaw its financial planning business during the peak of the scandal, Grahame Petersen, is now leaving the bank. 

ASIC has just come to terms with CBA on the new conditions it is imposing on licensees such as its subsidiary Financial Wisdom. 

So there really isn’t a better time for Financial Wisdom to gather its brood of financial planners at the Gold Coast Sheraton Mirage this week.

Paul Keating and Financial Wisdom executives did not return calls to confirm the former PM is headlining day one of the conference on Tuesday. 

CBD hears that the group was also hoping to get a few guests from the other political tent, such as Finance Minister Mathias Cormann, and Arthur Sinodinos. The latter was presumably under consideration before he stepped down as assistant treasurer over a starring display at the ICAC. 

Financial Wisdom executives were not available to say anything about the conference but we understand there is some sensitivity about it. 

On a conference call the day after a Senate inquiry recommended a royal commission on the fraud scandal at CBA, a Financial Wisdom rep asked: ‘‘Is it a good look, in a resort, with all this going on?’’

Rio's cash cow

Iron ore sales may have accounted for 90 per cent of Rio Tinto’s profits last year, but investors need not worry that company boss Sam Walsh is betting the farm on this cash cow. 

Walsh gave a hint recently about his diversification strategy when he described agriculture as a ''huge opportunity'' for Australia. 

CBD was surprised to subsequently hear that Rio is the biggest cattle owner in Western Australia, with a herd of about 24,000 at present.

It is understood that Rio also has some mining operations in the state, but surely it can’t equal the potential of beef. 

If CBD read the recent cattle sale summaries correctly, a medium-sized cow fetches $1.30 a kilo. Iron ore at the moment is lucky to top $100 a tonne.