There has been renewed interest in the corporate governance practices of modern corporations, particularly in relation to accountability, since the high-profile collapses of a number of large corporations during 2001–2002, most of which involved accounting fraud. Corporate scandals of various forms have maintained public and political interest in the regulation of corporate governance. In the U.S., these include Enron Corporation and MCI Inc. (formerly WorldCom). Their demise is associated with the U.S. federal government passing the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in 2002, intending to restore public confidence in corporate governance. Comparable failures in Australia (HIH, One.Tel) are associated with the eventual passage of the CLERP 9 reforms. Similar corporate failures in other countries stimulated increased regulatory interest (e.g., Parmalat in Italy).
Contents
1 Other definitions 2 Principles of corporate governance 3 Corporate governance models around the world 3.1 Continental Europe 3.2 India 3.3 United States, United Kingdom 4 Regulation 4.1 Legal environment – General 4.2 Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 5 Codes and guidelines 5.1 OECD principles