Various financial scandals have brought to the fore the need to ensure effective corporate governance. On a global scale, we have witnessed developments in international corporate governance, which have consistently highlighted the commonalities, and differences in corporate practices adopted. There is increasing effort on an international level for corporate governance standardisation, in order to ensure consistent practices across the board, reduce cost of capital for Multinational Companies (MNC’s) and increase cross boarder institutional investment. The Corporate Governance module focuses on and critiques the different approaches to corporate governance taken in various jurisdictions. Despite the different forms of company law and differing rules about listing on the stock exchange in the various jurisdictions, most of the studies and reports about corporate governance are consistent in identifying the characteristics of good corporate governance. That is, everyone knows what good governance comprises; its characteristics are consistent across jurisdictions. What may vary across different jurisdictions and industries, and even across different companies, are their governance practices and the extent to which the companies practice good governance.
Devise and structure a detailed research proposal on the following Questions:
Do you agree with the view that in light of recent global financial crisis, pressures to conform to international standards and expectations and differences in legal, cultural, ownership, different actors and other structural differences compounds on the complexity in achieving convergence of corporate governance systems? You should critically assess recent international developments in corporate governance and their role in achieving corporate governance convergence. You should consider the impact of the global financial crisis on corporate governance convergence or divergence and the effect of differences in for example local codes and legal rules, culture etc. make achieving true convergence a more complex task.
