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Corporate governance
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Book reviews / The British Accounting Review 36 (2004) 313–319
Corporate governance Kenneth A. Kim, John R. Nofsinger; Pearson Education Inc., 94 pages, ISBN 0131423878, £19.99 When I first saw this book on a colleague’s desk whilst visiting another university I assumed it must be a sample chapter from a much larger tome. Imagine my surprise on investigating to discover that the 94 pages comprised a complete book on the subject. If other subjects were also covered in such a concise fashion I could rapidly become an expert on many other topics, which hitherto, have eluded me! Written by two US finance professors, it offers a useful introduction to corporate governance from what is ostensibly a North American perspective. It comprises eight selfcontained chapters with topics ranging from executive pay to shareholder activism. One of the strengths of the book is that areas often not covered by corporate governance books are included within its few pages including the SEC, credit rating agencies and investment banks. The US perspective is however, also the weakness of the book in that there is no real mention of the new UK combined code or Cadbury or the developments in codes which have recently occurred in France, Germany and Australia for example. The two international comparisons which are made cover CEO compensation around the world and a brief section on international monitoring, but these are very much the exception rather than the rule. Other attributes of the book are its up to date information and approach, its real life examples (again mainly US orientated), and its questions, simple exercises and further readings. It adopts a straightforward common sense rather than academic approach which may find popularity with students, although my university bookshop reported they were often unwilling to pay almost £20 for such a small book. The chatty style may irritate some although it can be seen as a strength for students requiring an easy and enthusiastic read. The book is full of useful snippets which can be used to good effect in lectures and seminars. These include revelations about various well-known companies and CalPERS (California Public Employees Retirement System), together with the information that O.J. Simpson was once a member of an audit committee. In that sense the book is quite refreshing. The book’s intended market is clearly stated as that of a supplement for finance, accounting, management or business law classes at graduate and undergraduate levels and I think that is realistic provided that it is supplemented with materials from Europe (easily obtained from the European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI) website www.ecgi. org). However, I take issue with the suggestion that it could be the “sole text (for) an MBA module specifically focusing on corporate governance” (page xi). I think that teachers of masters modules rarely would wish to limit themselves to a sole text and even if they were to do so I think a more comprehensive and academic offering should be required such as Monks and Minnow (2001) or Solomon and Solomon (2004). There are also other books which are promised shortly and these will be worth a detailed inspection as they may well be suitable texts for postgraduate programmes. More likely this particular book is better utilised as pre-reading for students just about to embark upon such a course or alternatively a second year undergraduate module could make good use of the book. The book could be usefully improved by the addition of chapters with more of an international focus comparing and critiquing some of the recent reforms in other countries.
Book reviews / The British Accounting Review 36 (2004) 313–319
319
The theoretical basis of the subject really ought to be properly examined. The importance of corporate governance to smaller companies should also be discussed. Finally, an analysis of the important developments in corporate social responsibility also needs to have a place in such a book. Thus, in conclusion, I think this is a useful and enjoyable book but it needs to be heavily supplemented by other materials.
Reference Monks, R.A.G., Minnow, N., 2001. Corporate Governance, second ed., Blackwell, Oxford. Solomon, J., Solomon, A., 2004. Corporate Governance and Accountability, Wiley, Chichester.
Philip J. Shrives Division of Accounting and Financial Management, Newcastle Business School, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8ST, UK doi:10.1016/j.bar.2004.05.001
Book reviews / The British Accounting Review 36 (2004) 313–319
Corporate governance Kenneth A. Kim, John R. Nofsinger; Pearson Education Inc., 94 pages, ISBN 0131423878, £19.99 When I first saw this book on a colleague’s desk whilst visiting another university I assumed it must be a sample chapter from a much larger tome. Imagine my surprise on investigating to discover that the 94 pages comprised a complete book on the subject. If other subjects were also covered in such a concise fashion I could rapidly become an expert on many other topics, which hitherto, have eluded me! Written by two US finance professors, it offers a useful introduction to corporate governance from what is ostensibly a North American perspective. It comprises eight selfcontained chapters with topics ranging from executive pay to shareholder activism. One of the strengths of the book is that areas often not covered by corporate governance books are included within its few pages including the SEC, credit rating agencies and investment banks. The US perspective is however, also the weakness of the book in that there is no real mention of the new UK combined code or Cadbury or the developments in codes which have recently occurred in France, Germany and Australia for example. The two international comparisons which are made cover CEO compensation around the world and a brief section on international monitoring, but these are very much the exception rather than the rule. Other attributes of the book are its up to date information and approach, its real life examples (again mainly US orientated), and its questions, simple exercises and further readings. It adopts a straightforward common sense rather than academic approach which may find popularity with students, although my university bookshop reported they were often unwilling to pay almost £20 for such a small book. The chatty style may irritate some although it can be seen as a strength for students requiring an easy and enthusiastic read. The book is full of useful snippets which can be used to good effect in lectures and seminars. These include revelations about various well-known companies and CalPERS (California Public Employees Retirement System), together with the information that O.J. Simpson was once a member of an audit committee. In that sense the book is quite refreshing. The book’s intended market is clearly stated as that of a supplement for finance, accounting, management or business law classes at graduate and undergraduate levels and I think that is realistic provided that it is supplemented with materials from Europe (easily obtained from the European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI) website www.ecgi. org). However, I take issue with the suggestion that it could be the “sole text (for) an MBA module specifically focusing on corporate governance” (page xi). I think that teachers of masters modules rarely would wish to limit themselves to a sole text and even if they were to do so I think a more comprehensive and academic offering should be required such as Monks and Minnow (2001) or Solomon and Solomon (2004). There are also other books which are promised shortly and these will be worth a detailed inspection as they may well be suitable texts for postgraduate programmes. More likely this particular book is better utilised as pre-reading for students just about to embark upon such a course or alternatively a second year undergraduate module could make good use of the book. The book could be usefully improved by the addition of chapters with more of an international focus comparing and critiquing some of the recent reforms in other countries.
Book reviews / The British Accounting Review 36 (2004) 313–319
319
The theoretical basis of the subject really ought to be properly examined. The importance of corporate governance to smaller companies should also be discussed. Finally, an analysis of the important developments in corporate social responsibility also needs to have a place in such a book. Thus, in conclusion, I think this is a useful and enjoyable book but it needs to be heavily supplemented by other materials.
Reference Monks, R.A.G., Minnow, N., 2001. Corporate Governance, second ed., Blackwell, Oxford. Solomon, J., Solomon, A., 2004. Corporate Governance and Accountability, Wiley, Chichester.
Philip J. Shrives Division of Accounting and Financial Management, Newcastle Business School, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8ST, UK doi:10.1016/j.bar.2004.05.001