@Risk

Most corporations are investing inappropriately in corporate governance because they don’t take into account the financial and legal systems of the country in which they operate, according to new research from Lehigh University.

Anne Anderson, associate and a chaired professor in finance, and Parveen Gupta, professor and department chain in accounting at Lehigh College of Business and Economics studied 1,732 firms representing 22 countries. Their research, published in the January issue of The Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics , is the most comprehensive of its kind to-date and explores how a country’s financial structure and legal system impacts an organization’s governance behavior and financial performance.

Interestingly, the study results challenge the traditional thinking that says: if you implement good governance, you will increase the value of your company. Instead, Anderson and Gupta found that an increase in performance occurs only when you match the level of corporate governance with the financial and legal systems of the company where you do business. In a nutshell: (more…)

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has adopted amendments to its rules that will require enhanced risk management disclosure at all U.S. public companies.

These requirements become effective February 28, 2010 and will require registrants to make new or revised disclosures about: (more…)

What  are the directors of leading companies focused on these days?

You guessed it: Risk.

In fact, according to the 8th Annual “What Directors Think” survey released last week by PricewaterhouseCoopers and Corporate Board Member magazine, 69%
of the directors polled believe that their risk has increased over the last year — a substantial jump from the 38% who answered so in 2008. (more…)