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Reference and Research Resources
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The Asian Corporate Governance Association (ACGA) is a non-profit membership organization working to improve corporate governance in Asian markets through research, advocacy, and education. Here you will find reports on their annual conference and a large selection of country-specific research and codes.
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Davis Global Advisors (DGA) is a privately owned consulting firm that focuses on global corporate governance. DGA publishes Global Proxy Watch, which is a weekly newsletter available through a trial subscription that reports up-to-date international corporate governance developments. DGA also publishes an annual report, Leading Corporate Governance Indicators, which serves as a benchmark for the market to compare countries on accountability and transparency measures. The executive summary can be downloaded free of charge.
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Encycogov is an academic encyclopedia about corporate governance aimed at students, academics, business investors, and government officials. In addition to providing general information on corporate governance issues, it offers in-depth information on specific topics such as decision and monitoring systems, remuneration and bankruptcy systems, ownership, creditor and capital structures, and the market for corporate control. Some general topics are offered online in both text format and video presentations.
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A well-organized site that provides news, links to Web sites of companies with strong corporate governance systems and records, and a reference library that lists articles, books, conference papers, and links to corporate governance codes.
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The Corporate Library serves as a well-organized central repository for research, study, and critical thinking about the nature of the modern global corporation, with a special focus on corporate governance research and the relationship between company management, their boards, and shareowners. Users can sign up for free news briefs, access the recommended reading list, and also purchase specialized research publications and data.
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This site provides a comprehensive list of worldwide corporate governance codes, including the European Association Of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation (EASDAQ) guidelines, which are notable in their efforts to outpace the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation System (NASDAQ) on the corporate governance front, while encompassing the demands of single and two-tier board structures. The site also provides a useful source of contacts and materials on the continental European scene, which is developing at a rapid pace.
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The International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN) is an unincorporated, nonprofit association based in the United Kingdom with the goal of promoting good corporate governance practice throughout the world. They publish a free quarterly newsletter.
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The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS), one of the world's largest pension funds, has been at the forefront of the corporate governance movement as institutional investors have begun to extend their influence overseas via international portfolios. The site contains information on the governance structure of the fund, its United States' principles, its voting record, and speeches from trustees. CalPERS interest in international corporate governance principles is primarily devoted to how they impact financial returns and performance. Additionally, the website contains a searchable library database with a comprehensive collection of documents relating to the history of the development of corporate governance.
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The Financial Stability Forum (FSF) was convened in 1999 to promote international financial stability through information exchange and international cooperation in financial supervision and surveillance. It brings together national authorities responsible for financial stability in systemically important international financial centers, international financial institutions, sector-specific international groupings of regulators and supervisors, and committees of central bank experts. In its Compendium of Standards, the FSF presents the various economic and financial standards that are widely accepted as relevant to sound financial systems, highlighting the 12 key core standards.
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Diagnostic work on corporate governance reform is being carried out under the Reports on the Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC) program, a joint project of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, as part of the effort to strengthen the international financial architecture. The country assessment of corporate governance practices measures the legal and regulatory framework, as well as practices and compliance of listed firms against the OECD Principles of Corporate Governance. Other ROSCs done by the World Bank group are the Accounting and Auditing and the Insolvency and Creditors Rights ROSCs.
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Thai Rating and Information Services Co., Ltd. (TRIS) has created corporate governance rating methodology that is modeled after international standards but applied to the specific nature of Thai business and culture. The ratings are based on four sets of criteria: shareholder's rights, composition and roles of the board of directors and management, information disclosure, and corporate governance culture.
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Moody's Investors Services has defined corporate governance principles, which are used as benchmarks for their corporate governance ratings. Their ratings and analysis cover approximately 100 sovereign nations.
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GovernanceMetrics International (GMI) is a global corporate governance ratings agency. Its ratings are based on publicly disclosed information only and available to companies on a no-cost basis. They aim to identify those who need work in the area of corporate governance and to acknowledge those who are performing well. GMI's research encompasses more than 2,600 companies in North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. To access their information, you must apply for a free trial.
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The OECD principles were created in conjunction with the 12 key standards for international financial stability of the Financial Stability Forum. Since their adoption in May 1999, the Principles have become widely accepted as the international standard. The OECD Principles are divided into sections on the basic rights of shareholders, equitable treatment of shareholders, the role of stakeholders, disclosure and transparency, and the role of the board of directors. The principles were updated in 2004 through an assessment conducted by the OECD Steering Group on Corporate Governance. A summary policy brief is also available. The principles are also available in French, German, Japanese, Portuguese and Russian.
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The European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) views the promotion of good corporate governance as essential to its work and has created a Corporate Governance Sector Assessment project to gauge the status of laws and regulations related to corporate governance in transition countries. This page has links to individual country assessments, the EBRD country governance checklist, and the 2003 Assessment Results.
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Deminor is an independent consulting practice that has developed corporate governance services for Europe, which are incorporated into a subsidiary called Deminor Rating. The Deminor Ratings' Corporate Governance Standard is composed of over 300 governance indicators, where each criterion used refers to internationally accepted guidelines of well-known international and national organizations, as well as voting guidelines of major actors in corporate governance. They also publish an annual overall assessment of the corporate governance performance of European blue chip companies called Trends & Rating 2003. This site is also available in Dutch, French, and Italian.
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Standard & Poor's reviews these four areas as part of the Corporate Governance Scoring process: ownership structure and influence; financial stakeholder rights and relations; financial transparency and information disclosure; and board structure and process. Standard & Poor's corporate governance scores reflect the actual governance practices of companies, regardless of law, securities regulations, and accounting requirements.
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The Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) is a non-profit affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. It is one of the core institutes of the National Endowment for Democracy, which works directly with the private sector in developing countries to endorse democratic and market-oriented economic reforms. A large part of its work is to show businesses the benefits of adopting corporate governance standards. This work is supported by conferences, publications and projects worldwide.
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This organization seeks to promote international corporate governance best practice standards. It produces news briefs and publications and conducts workshops throughout its member regions.
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The primary goal of the Information Systems Security Association (ISSA) is to advocate practices to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information resources of organizations. To fulfill this goal, the ISSA has established a Code of Ethics for its members, which upholds disclosure and transparency requirements of corporate governance best practice standards.
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The Centre for Corporate Governance (formerly the Private Sector Corporate Governance Trust) was established in 1999 by the Private Sector Initiative for Corporate Governance to improve corporate governance standards in Kenya through training, education, awareness raising, and research. The Centre is affiliated with the Commonwealth Association for Corporate Governance (CACG) and involved in the Pan African Corporate Governance Forum.
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This site provides a range of analyses on Russian companies and will ultimately provide a commercial ratings service. Recently published work includes the first survey of independent directors in Russian-listed companies. The site is offered in English and Russian.
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Papers
Web Sites
Case Studies