Corporate governance: A critical survey of key concepts, issues, and recent reforms in the US

This paper critically surveys basic corporate governance concepts and theories, assesses recent international empirical support of theories, and analyzes the impact of major, recent corporate governance reforms in the US. Comparing representative economies identifies the essential features of different corporate governance systems. Therefore, the corporate governance structures of a few countries (England, US, Germany, and Japan) are explored. In second part of the paper, some emergent issues of corporate governance such as the impact of block holders and emergent market regulatory changes are assessed. Finally, the effectiveness of the Sarbanes-Oxley act is evaluated. © 2005 Springer Science + Business Media, Inc.