Corporate Governance

This book covers the relation between various groups of people that have a stake in a corporation, called stakeholders. Understanding this relation is important when defining the set of rules that ensure that the corporation is well governed, in short ‘Corporate Governance’. The question “What is good Corporate Governance?” is more difficult to answer than the question “Can you give an example of bad Corporate Governance?” Some infamous cases are those of Enron, Worldcom, Parmalat and Toshiba. These cases clearly demonstrated the need for a sound foundation in corporate governance. Our conviction is that the scandals are not as black and white as often depicted: we think it is important that the cases are studied in context and that they are extensively discussed. There are many aspects in designing Corporate Governance. In this book we will focus on the economic aspect. As part of this aspect we will discuss internal control and risk management. They are effective means to govern an organization. We will also look at the relevant laws and regulations and the subject of ethics in business.