Outrage of the Week: How Not to Reform Corporate Governance

Corporate governance has increasingly come to be associated with the benefits of transparency and disclosure. Common sense is also an important component in preserving confidence and accountability in the conduct of publicly traded corporations and fostering a culture where directors actually assume the responsibility of directing. Those charged with assisting them, such as auditors and lawyers, also fulfill vital functions in the protection of investors and the integrity of the capital markets. All of that would take a sharp turn downward if the Committee on Capital Markets Regulation has its way. The report of this so called “blue ribbon” panel was released this week and has the support of Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr., who also thinks that loosening regulation on Wall Street and in the boardrooms is just what America needs. (more…)