The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Board failures in the financial crisis: tinkering with codes and the case for wider corporate reform in the UK (Part 1)

Board failures in the financial crisis: tinkering with codes and the case for wider corporate reform in the UK (Part 1)
Board failures in the financial crisis: tinkering with codes and the case for wider corporate reform in the UK (Part 1)
The financial crisis has exposed egregious failures of corporate governance with bank boards unaware of the extent of the risks facing their businesses and non executive directors incapable of challenging dominant executives. This article considers the value of the Walker and Financial Reporting Council’s reviews and reform of the UK Corporate Governance Code in the light of these failures, focusing on the role of the non-executive directors. The article considers that a ‘business as usual’ type of response is insufficient in these circumstances and more radical corporate governance reforms should be considered. Two issues deserve particular attention. First, board composition and competence must be addressed and the value of shareholder engagement on this issue is considered. Secondly, and more radically, the case is made for setting up a public interest oversight body under the umbrella of the FRC to have oversight of corporate governance issues in publicly traded companies.

non-executive directors, shareholder engagement, corporate governance codes, scope of directors’ duties
0144-1027
363 -371
Hannigan, Brenda
d439c291-6794-4f9c-b27b-01386a13359e
Hannigan, Brenda
d439c291-6794-4f9c-b27b-01386a13359e

Hannigan, Brenda (2011) Board failures in the financial crisis: tinkering with codes and the case for wider corporate reform in the UK (Part 1). Company Lawyer, 32 (12), 363 -371.

Record type: Article

Abstract

The financial crisis has exposed egregious failures of corporate governance with bank boards unaware of the extent of the risks facing their businesses and non executive directors incapable of challenging dominant executives. This article considers the value of the Walker and Financial Reporting Council’s reviews and reform of the UK Corporate Governance Code in the light of these failures, focusing on the role of the non-executive directors. The article considers that a ‘business as usual’ type of response is insufficient in these circumstances and more radical corporate governance reforms should be considered. Two issues deserve particular attention. First, board composition and competence must be addressed and the value of shareholder engagement on this issue is considered. Secondly, and more radically, the case is made for setting up a public interest oversight body under the umbrella of the FRC to have oversight of corporate governance issues in publicly traded companies.

Text
Article__-_full_text_-_board_failures_in_the_financial_crisis_-_the_case_for_wider_corporate_governance_reforms.docx - Author's Original
Restricted to Repository staff only
Request a copy

More information

Published date: December 2011
Additional Information: Published in two parts: Part 1 was published in December 2011 Company Lawyer, 32, (12), 363-371; Part 2 was published in February 2012 Company Lawyer, 33, (2), 35-41
Keywords: non-executive directors, shareholder engagement, corporate governance codes, scope of directors’ duties

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 171275
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/171275
ISSN: 0144-1027
PURE UUID: 7f5ec062-72c9-40b8-97b5-21cfde2d0620
ORCID for Brenda Hannigan: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-1155-3287

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 17 Jan 2011 11:41
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 02:32

Export record

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×