Corporate Governance: An International Perspective

Corporate governance can be defined as the set of legal policies that stipulate the parties who have the right to make the most important decisions in business organizations, consisting of corporate control and the processes and procedures through which these parties practice the decision-making power and control. In many corporate governance structures, control is assigned solely to investors, who being the equity capital providers expect residual risk by right of having a claim on residual revenues and profits. The most important ethical question in corporate governance is how shareholders' exclusive right to control and profit from a company can be justified. The adoption of corporate governance systems, the convergence of corporate governance activities toward globally accepted practices, and initiatives taken to ensure effective corporate governance practices are all discussed in this volume. For instance, the government of Malaysia has taken significant steps to establish the infrastructure that is required for efficient corporate governance practices. Ultimately, the agenda for effective corporate governance requires serious focus on enforcement, monitoring, and advocacy. Financial markets globalization over the previous decade has necessitated international compliance with corporate governance standards.