
Gatekeepers
The Professions and Corporate Governance
John C. Coffee Jr.(Author)
Oxford University Press
Published on 11. April 2019
Book
Paperback/Softback
400 pages
978-0-19-883528-8 (ISBN)
Description
In the wake of a series of corporate governance disasters in the US and Europe which have gained almost mythic status - Enron, WorldCom, Tyco, Adelphia, HealthSouth, Parmalat - one question has not yet been addressed. A number of 'gatekeeping' professions - auditors, attorneys, securities analysts, credit-rating agencies - exist to guard against these governance failures. Yet clearly these watchdogs did not bark while corporations were looted and destroyed. But why not?
To answer these questions, a more detailed investigation is necessary that moves beyond journalism and easy scapegoating, and examines the evolution, responsibilities, and standards of these professions. John C. Coffee Jr, world-renowned Professor of Corporate Law, examines how these gatekeeping professions developed, to what degree they failed, and what reforms are feasible. Above all, this book examines the institutional changes and pressures that caused gatekeepers to underperform or neglect their responsibilities, and focuses on those feasible changes that can restore gatekeepers as the loyal agents of investors.
This informed and readable view of the players on the contemporary business stage will be essential reading for investors, professionals, executives and business academics concerned with issues of good governance.
To answer these questions, a more detailed investigation is necessary that moves beyond journalism and easy scapegoating, and examines the evolution, responsibilities, and standards of these professions. John C. Coffee Jr, world-renowned Professor of Corporate Law, examines how these gatekeeping professions developed, to what degree they failed, and what reforms are feasible. Above all, this book examines the institutional changes and pressures that caused gatekeepers to underperform or neglect their responsibilities, and focuses on those feasible changes that can restore gatekeepers as the loyal agents of investors.
This informed and readable view of the players on the contemporary business stage will be essential reading for investors, professionals, executives and business academics concerned with issues of good governance.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 21 mm
Weight
603 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-883528-8 (9780198835288)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Book
06/2006
Oxford University Press
€140.70
Shipment within 15-20 days
Person
John C. Coffee Jr. is the Adolf A. Berle Professor of Law and Director of the Center on Corporate Governance at Columbia Law School. He is a fellow at the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and has been repeatedly listed by the National Law Journal as among its "100 Most Influential Lawyers in America". He has served as a reporter to The American Law Institute for its Corporate Governance Project and on the Legal Advisory Board to the New York Stock Exchange. He is the author of several casebooks and scholarly works, including Entrepreneurial Litigation: Its Rise, Fall, and Future (Harvard University Press, 2016).
Author
Adolf A. Berle Professor of LawAdolf A. Berle Professor of Law, Columbia Law School
Content
1: Introduction
Part I: What Happened?
2: The Failure of Gatekeepers
3: Explaining Gatekeeper Failure?
4: A Comparative Perspective
Part II: The Development of Gatekeepers
5: The Rise, Fall, and Redefinition of the Auditor: From Bookkeeper to Professional to Information Consultant
6: Corporate Attorneys as Gatekeepers: The Short History of a Developing Concept
7: Securities Analysts
8: The Ratings Agencies
Part III: The Search for Reform
9: What Went Wrong?
10: What Should Work? (And How to Get There)
11: Conclusion: The Future of Gatekeeping
Part I: What Happened?
2: The Failure of Gatekeepers
3: Explaining Gatekeeper Failure?
4: A Comparative Perspective
Part II: The Development of Gatekeepers
5: The Rise, Fall, and Redefinition of the Auditor: From Bookkeeper to Professional to Information Consultant
6: Corporate Attorneys as Gatekeepers: The Short History of a Developing Concept
7: Securities Analysts
8: The Ratings Agencies
Part III: The Search for Reform
9: What Went Wrong?
10: What Should Work? (And How to Get There)
11: Conclusion: The Future of Gatekeeping