Finance Reading: Corporate Governance

Format:Print
| Language:English

Abstract

Core Curriculum Readings in Finance cover the fundamental concepts, theories, and frameworks in finance. This reading presents an overview of corporate governance, focusing on for-profit businesses that are privately owned by dispersed investors—that is, not owned by a government or by a single owner. The Essential Reading covers the varied mechanisms that address two essential types of conflicts of interest that occur in corporations, both of which arise from the common feature of dispersed ownership: 1) conflicts between managers and owners and 2) conflicts between controlling and non-controlling owners. The reading provides a foundation for further study in the general topic of corporate governance. The Supplemental Reading briefly reviews topics such as "stakeholder" vs. "shareholder" models of corporate governance, the role of creditors in governance, and the important but distinct non-finance goals served by corporate governance.

Keywords

Finance; Corporate Governance; For-Profit Firms; Private Ownership; Conflict of Interests

Citation

Coates, John, and Suraj Srinivasan. "Finance Reading: Corporate Governance." Core Curriculum Readings Series. Boston: Harvard Business Publishing 5209, 2018.