Corporate Governance in Australia

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses Australia's corporate responsibility and corporate governance. The paper begins by analyzing the major schools of thought regarding corporate responsibility and governance. The paper then compares the similarities and differences between US and Australian corporate governance. It concludes by discussing the Sarbanes-Oxley reforms in the US.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
Analysis of Major Schools of Thought on Corporate Responsibility and Corporate Governance
Similarities and Differences of US and Australia's Corporate Governance and Responsibility
The Sarbanes-Oxley Reforms in the US
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"On the other hand, the role of the directors in the corporations does not mean anything as such the shareholders do not have any "positive" control rights over the corporation granting them direct input into and say over how the corporation is governed or whether certain business opportunities are pursued. Shareholders are still given the right to vote for the board of directors, most importantly, and can make recommendations on governance and business matters to the board through the shareholder proposal process. They also have the right to vote on certain mergers and on any proposed sale of all or substantially all of the corporation's assets. Their approval as well recognized such that the company's articles of incorporation cannot be amended without them saying yes. They are also given the right to vote to amend the bylaws. Nevertheless, they do not have any authority to manage the day-to-day business directly or to set overall corporate policy and strategy, unless granted such control in the certificate of incorporation, which happens rarely, if ever. (Paredes, 2004)"

Sample of Sources Used:

• "ASX Corporate Governance Council." http://www.shareholder.com/shared/dynamicdoc/ASX/364/ASXRecommendations.pdf. Oct. 27, 2006.
• "Corporate Governance Framework." http://www.treasury.gov.au/documents/178/RTF/ch4.rtf. Oct. 27, 2006.
• Detomasi, D. 2002. "International institutions and the case for corporate governance: toward a distributive governance framework?" Global Governance. Oct. 27, 2006.
• Dignam, A. & Galanis, M. "Australia Inside-Out: The Corporate Governance System of the Australian Listed Market." http://www.law.unimelb.edu.au/cclsr/researchpapers/Aust.Corp.Gov.System%20of%20Aust.list.Mark..pdf. Oct. 27, 2006.
• "Economic Perspectives." http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/ites/0205/ijee/ijee0205.pdf. Oct. 27, 2006.

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