Gatekeepers: The Professions and Corporate Governance

Gatekeepers: The Professions and Corporate Governance

Publication Date

2006

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780199288090.001.0001

Description

In the wake of a series of corporate governance disasters in the US and Europe which have gained almost mythic status – Enron, WorldCom, Tyco, Adelphia, HealthSouth, Parmalat – one question has not yet been addressed. A number of 'gatekeeping' professions – auditors, attorneys, securities analysts, credit-rating agencies – exist to guard against these governance failures. Yet clearly these watchdogs did not bark while corporations were looted and destroyed. But why not?

To answer these questions, a more detailed investigation is necessary that moves beyond journalism and easy scapegoating, and examines the evolution, responsibilities, and standards of these professions. John C. Coffee Jr., world-renowned Professor of Corporate Law, examines how these gatekeeping professions developed, to what degree they failed, and what reforms are feasible. Above all, this book examines the institutional changes and pressures that caused gatekeepers to underperform or neglect their responsibilities, and focuses on those feasible changes that can restore gatekeepers as the loyal agents of investors.

This informed and readable view of the players on the contemporary business stage will be essential reading for investors, professionals, executives and business academics concerned with issues of good governance.

Disciplines

Business | Business Law, Public Responsibility, and Ethics | Business Organizations Law | Law | Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility | Securities Law

ISBN

9780199288090

Publisher

Oxford University Press

City

New York, NY

Comments

Also available as an eBook through the Columbia University Libraries.

Gatekeepers: The Professions and Corporate Governance

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