Corporate governance

2003 articles

• The business of rebuilding Iraq
• Abigail Rayner looks into the contracts won by US construction companies and the consequences for President Bush's international profile
• Higgs: triumph or time bomb?
• Paul Moxey points out his concerns about the recommendations made in the recent Higgs report
• The way forward for non-executive directors
• Are non-executive directors the answer to problems raised by recent accounting scandals? Paul Moxey considers the roles of NEDs

2004 articles

• Reflection and responsibility
• Dale Williams gives an intriguing insight into why he believes that many are to blame for the recent spate of corporate scandals, not just those executives directly involved
• Corporate governance
• What does the review of the Corporate Governance Code mean for Singapore companies? Joseph Alfred writes
• Sarbanes-Oxley: two years on
• Perhaps the most vital corporate governance legislation in recent years, Jon Rowden looks at the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which, now two years old, continues to place ever greater responsibilities on America Inc
• Introducing a new age of materialism
• Can the decline in corporate ethical standards be blamed on the increasingly materialistic society in which we live? Barry Cooper and Philomena Leung discuss why they think it can
• Respect, reputation, renewal
• John Prosser talks to ACCA's new CEO, Allen Blewitt

2005 articles

• Brighter prospects
• Professor Ato Ghartey profiles public sector accountability in the developing world and the emerging trends for improved governance and development
• Where did the money go?
• Michelle Perry reports on increasing demands from the public to know how their charitable donations are spent, and how fundraisers are responding
• Complying with the code
• Sonia Khao reports on Hong Kong's new mandatory disclosure requirements for good corporate governance

2006 articles

• Does Singapore need a corporate sling?
• A spate of corporate scandals has shaken the business community in Singapore. Jake Lloyd-Smith writes on what measures are being taken to restore reputation and confidence in the Lion City
• Weaving a web of corporate deceit
• The mystery surrounding the financial dealings of the late Brett Kebble had led to fears of an epic corporate scandal in South Africa. Kirsty Laschinger investigates
• Protecting the whistleblower
• To what extent are external auditors in Singapore required to whistleblow on companies they audit, based on current legislation and regulations; and to what extent are they protected? Joseph Alfred reports
• Custodians of integrity in Africa
• An ACCA East Africa convention in Kenya has highlighted the need for corporate transparency and good governance. Philip Ngunjiri reports on the issues debated and how trust can be restored in the profession
• Reaping the rewards
• Achieving a company-wide programme of compliance may certainly be challenging, writes Anthony Waller, but the long-term benefits will be gratifying
• A safe alternative to silence
• It is the belief of one high-profile commentator that “to prevent whistleblowing you need to encourage whistleblowing.” Stefan Stern considers the paradox
• A fall from grace
• Julian Ryall reviews the Livedoor case and asks whether Japan Inc should now expect tougher financial regulatory controls as a result of the scandal
• Non-qualified accountants in Singapore
• Will Singapore’s newly amended Listing Rule 705 encourage more companies to have a qualified accountant as CFO? Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop reports
• Asian regulators grow their adult teeth
• Peta Tomlinson looks at financial regulators post-Enron
• Letter from... Japan
• Julian Ryall considers the effects of the ChuoAoyama PricewaterhouseCoopers scandal
• Regulators grow their adult teeth
• Peter Williams looks at financial regulators post-Enron

2007 articles

• Governance to the next level
• As trusted advisers with direct access to the whole board, accountants are ideally positioned to enable boards of directors to explore new frontiers of excellence, aargue Vijay Mistri and Caroline Oliver
• Letter from... Malaysia
• Nazatul Izma Abdullah reports
• Profit or greed?
• Recalling Gordon Gekko's famous line - greed is good - Stefan Stern writes on how companies like Tesco are treading the fine line between achieving high profitability and good corporate behaviour
• Code to joy
• The Combined Code, the corporate governance framework introduced for UK-listed entities in 2003, has been reviewed by the Financial Reporting Council this year. Is the Code working well? asks Richard Young
• Auditor liability
• Images of handcuffed CEOs have become commonplace in the US media. To many it is a sign that shareholder-driven litigation is working. But audit firms are getting nervous, reports Christian Doherty

2008 articles

• A decade of regulatory evolution
• In the last decade some significant changes have been made to the regulatory environment in which accountants operate. Looking ahead, further change is anticipated, reports Sarah Perrin
• The simple life
• Growing complexity is the bane of many accountants in business. But if the UK's Financial Reporting Council gets its way, things might start to get simpler in 2008, says Richard Young
• Shattering the glass ceiling
• Norway has used powerful legislation to break down the barrier to women occupying senior corporate jobs. Could this be the way forward for other countries? asks Richard Willsher
• Governing regulation and discipline
• Peter Large describes the formation of an ACCA Regulatory Board
• Understanding governance
• Julia Rudrum reports on the findings of a recent research project by ACCA in collaboration with the UK’s Department of Health
• Waiting on the regulatory platform
• A majority of company finance professionals in Asia believe that a correlation exists between enhanced shareholder value and increased regulation, according to a recent survey. John Church reports
• The FD's straitjacket
• If there is one subject guaranteed to get the UK’s finance directors talking, it is regulation, says Christian Doherty
• Do the right thing...
• Jude Curtis, chief ethics and compliance officer, PricewaterhouseCoopers US, tells Colette Steckel why ethics and compliance is the responsibility of everyone
• Letter from... Canada
• A recent report by Canada's Competition Bureau criticised Canada's accounting profession for being over-regulated, particularly in the limits it places on who can offer certain professional services, reports Alison Arnot