The Corporate Governance blog

Where's the value in equity markets?

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 16:06:48 GMT

It is sometimes forgotten that equity markets exist not solely to enrich speculators, market makers and intermediaries. In the UK their historic purpose - at a time of both economic and empire expansion - was to bring together those with...

Designing capitalism for the future

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 11:11:20 GMT

“In whose interests should companies be run?” is a question that people have grappled with for years. A small company owner (who also owns its shares) will usually run it in their own interest. And this is usually fine provided...

Is this the right direction of travel?

Paul Moxey — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 10:34:03 GMT

For the last 20 years, corporate governance has developed incrementally and the direction of travel has always been the same - towards more and more specification about generally accepted fundamentals. These include: the role of non-executive directors, ensuring no single...

Something more is needed

Paul Moxey — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 10:46:07 GMT

There is now a climate of opinion which accepts that changes are needed. A ‘Big Society’ would demand it. The reforms since Enron and WorldCom proved useless in preventing banks taking extreme risks and gambling with our economies. Again, boards...

Adam Smith would regard the profits of creative compliance as rent

Paul Moxey — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 11:24:29 GMT

How do we know value when it is created? Adam Smith divided incomes into profit, wage, and rent. He reasoned that in seeking profit, businesses create value in a competitive environment by engaging in mutually beneficial transactions. This way an...

Time for a fresh look at corporate governance

Paul Moxey — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 16:19:41 GMT

In 1992, after failures at Barings Bank and Polly Peck, Sir Adrian Cadbury proposed a voluntary code of governance based on best practice principles coupled with disclosure. The idea was for shareholders to consider the disclosures and hold boards to...