British Directors’ Accountability vs. American CEOs’ Primacy

Abstract:     
Although both approaches to corporate governance tackle the fundamental principal-agent problem, a basic comparative analysis of the British Codes and the American Sarbanes-Oxley Act reveals a relevant normative asymmetry. While the British regulations have been historically more prescriptive with the responsibilities of Executive and Non-Executive Directors, the American norms seem to point more clearly at the CEO and CFO as the ultimate responsible for corporate governance liabilities.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 10

Keywords: Corporate, Governance, Liability, Accounatbility, Director, CEO

JEL Classification: G3, G38

working papers series