Accountability, Governance and Regulation

Aims

In the last decades, corporate governance has become a very popular topic. Corporate governance issues – e.g. ownership and group structures, board of directors, executive compensation, etc. – are debated by media, investors, managers, directors, consultants, authorities, politicians, and scholars from different disciplines (e.g. finance, economics, law, management, etc.). Despite this growing interest on the topic, there is not a clear understanding of what the core corporate governance principles are and how they should be implemented.

The course presents the main corporate governance theories, issues and mechanisms. The module helps students to develop:

(i) a critical understanding of ownership structures and governance mechanisms;

(ii) an ability to correctly analyze governance problems and to properly design ownership structures and governance mechanisms to address them.

Learning Outcomes

• Understand and mature a systemic view of corporate governance issues and mechanisms
• Analyze ownership structure and corporate governance of different companies to find out risks of potential abuse of minority shareholders
• Design ownership structures and governance mechanisms aimed at improving the ethical and sustainable value production and distribution

Content

• Shareholders and stakeholders view of the firm
• Corporate governance and private benefits of control
• Corporate governance mechanisms: potential benefits and drawbacks
• Board design
• Executive compensation