Skip to main content
Book cover

Accounting and Financial System Reform in a Transition Economy: A Case Study of Russia pp 53–77Cite as

Recent Developments in Corporate Governance

  • Chapter

  • 762 Accesses

Abstract

Corporate governance is a new and rapidly changing field in transition economies. Companies must have good corporate governance to attract foreign investment but many Russian firms have governance practices that leave much to be desired. Until a few years ago, transparency was practically unknown and even now many enterprises hide important financial information rather than report it. Minority shareholders often had little or no rights and the value of their investments evaporated as top management plundered the corporation and transferred assets to shell corporations they controlled.

After the Russian default in 1998 several private organizations were formed to protect minority shareholders and to pressure Russian corporations to adopt good corporate governance practices such as electing independent directors, forming an audit committee as part of the board of directors and adopting and implementing international financial reporting standards. This paper reports on their efforts and discusses how far along Russian corporations are on the road to good corporate governance practices. Some of the information in this paper was gathered from interviews conducted in Moscow and St. Petersburg during the summer of 2003.

Keywords

  • Corporate Governance
  • Independent Director
  • Transition Economy
  • Audit Committee
  • International Financial Reporting Standard

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

An earlier version of this chapter was presented at the International Academy of Business and Public Administration Disciplines (IABPAD), Annual Conference, New Orleans, January 23–25, 2004.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • DOI: 10.1007/0-387-23887-5_4
  • Chapter length: 25 pages
  • Instant PDF download
  • Readable on all devices
  • Own it forever
  • Exclusive offer for individuals only
  • Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout
eBook
USD   119.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • ISBN: 978-0-387-23887-6
  • Instant PDF download
  • Readable on all devices
  • Own it forever
  • Exclusive offer for individuals only
  • Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout
Softcover Book
USD   159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
Hardcover Book
USD   159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
Learn about institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Anonymous. 2001a. Minority What? Economist, 358(8210), 72 (February 24).

    Google Scholar 

  • Anonymous. (December 2000/January 2001). S&P Devises Scoring System for Corporate Governance Risk. Central European 10(10), 20–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Black, B. 2001. Does Corporate Governance Matter? A Crude Test Using Russian Data, University of Pennsylvania Law Review 149(6), 2131–2150 (June).

    MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  • British Accounting Association Corporate Governance Special Interest Group website http://www.baacgsig.qub.ac.uk/

    Google Scholar 

  • Buck, T. 2003. Modern Russian Corporate Governance: Convergent Forces or Product of Russia’s History? Journal of World Business, 38(4), 299–313.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Cadbury, A., et al. 1992. (The Cadbury Report) Report of the Committee on Financial Aspects of Corporate Governance (December 1), London: Gee Publishing Ltd... Available at http://www.worldbank.org/html/fpd/privatesector/cg/docs/cadbury.pdf.

    Google Scholar 

  • Corporate Monitoring http://www.corpmon.com/

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis Global Advisors. Leading Corporate Governance Indicators, Newton, MA: Davis Global Advisors. Annual publication. http://www.davisglobal.com/publications/lcgi/index.html

    Google Scholar 

  • Encyclopedia of Corporate Governance http://www.encycogov.com/

    Google Scholar 

  • European Corporate Governance Institute website http://www.ecgi.org/

    Google Scholar 

  • European Corporate Governance Institute link to Codes http://www.ecgi.org/codes/all_codes.htm

    Google Scholar 

  • Feinberg, P. 2000. Historically Indifferent Russia Starts to Heed Corporate Governance Rules, Pensions & Investments, 28(23), 18–19 (November 13).

    Google Scholar 

  • Filatotchev, I., Buck, T. and Zhukov, V. 2000. Downsizing in Privatized Firms in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. Academy of Management Journal, 43(3), 286–304.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Filatotchev, I., Wright, M., Uhlenbruck, K., Tihanyi, L., and Hoskisson, R. 2003. Governance, Organizational Capabilities, and Restructuring in Transition Economies. Journal of World Business, 38(4), 331–347.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Global Corporate Governance Forum http://www.gcgf.org/

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenbury, R. et al. 1995. (Greenbury Report). Directors’ Remuneration: Report of a Study Group Chaired by Sir Richard Greenbury, (July 17), London: Gee Publishing Ltd. Available at http://www.baacgsig.qub.ac.uk/

    Google Scholar 

  • Haigh, A. 2001. We View Russia’s Future with Optimism. Kommersant-Daily (January 26) [www.pwcglobal.ru/].

    Google Scholar 

  • Hampel Committee. 1998. Hampel Committee Report, (January), London: Gee Publishing Ltd. Available at http://www.ecgi.org/codes/country_documents/uk/hampel_index.htm

    Google Scholar 

  • Independent Directors Association website www.independentdirector.ru

    Google Scholar 

  • Independent Directors Association. 2003. Independent Director Code (April 15 Draft), Moscow: Independent Directors Association. Available at www.independentdirector.ru.

    Google Scholar 

  • Institute of Corporate Law and Corporate Governance website www.iclg.ru

    Google Scholar 

  • Institute of Corporate Law and Corporate Governance. 2002. Managing Corporate Governance Risks in Russia (May), Moscow: Institute of Corporate Law and Corporate Governance.

    Google Scholar 

  • International Corporate Governance Network website http://www.icgn.org/

    Google Scholar 

  • International Finance Corporation, Russia Corporate Governance Project website http://www2.ifc.org/rcgp/english.htm

    Google Scholar 

  • Iskyan, K. 2002. Clean-up Time in Russia, Global Finance 32–35 (February).

    Google Scholar 

  • Judge, W.Q., Naoumova, I. & Kutzevol, N. 2003. Corporate Governance in Russia: An Empirical Study of Russian Managers’ Perception. Paper presented at the Gorbachev Foundation Conference on Corporate Governance in Transition Economies held at Northeastern University, Boston, April 2003. Published in Journal of World Business, 38 (4), 385–396 (November 2003) under the title Corporate Governance and Firm Performance in Russia: An Empirical Study.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCarthy, D.J. and Puffer, S.M. 2003. Corporate Governance in Russia: A Framework for Analysis. Journal of World Business, 38(4), 397–415.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • McCarthy, D.J. and Puffer, S.M. 2002. Corporate Governance in Russia: Towards a European, US, or Russian Model? European Management Journal, 20(6), 630–641.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Metzger, B., Dean, R.N. and Bloom, D. 2002. Russia’s Code of Corporate Conduct: An Innovative Approach to Solving Shareholder Rights Abuses, The Corporate Governance Advisor10 (2), 12–17 (March/April).

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, S. 2002. Law and Order Makes its Mark, Banker 152(913), 44–45 (March).

    Google Scholar 

  • Monks, R. A.G. & Minow, N. (Eds) 2004. Corporate Governance, third edition, London: Blackwell Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Muravyev, A. 2001. Turnover of Top Executives in Russian Companies. Russian Economic Trends, 10(1), 20–24.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • National Association of Corporate Directors website http://www.nacdonline.org/

    Google Scholar 

  • Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development website http://www.oecd.org/document/62/0,2340,en_2649_37439_1912830_1_1_1_37439,00.html

    Google Scholar 

  • Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. 2003. White Paper on Corporate Governance in South Eastern Europe, Paris: OECD. www.oecd.org.

    Google Scholar 

  • Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. 2003. Survey of Corporate Governance Developments in OECD Countries, Paris: OECD.

    Google Scholar 

  • Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. 2002. White Paper on Corporate Governance in Russia, (April 15), Paris: OECD. Available at http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/10/3/2789982.pdf.

    Google Scholar 

  • Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. 1999. Principles of Corporate Governance, Paris: OECD. Available at http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/47/50/4347646.pdf.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peng, M., Buck, T. and Filatotchev, I. 2003. Do Outside Directors and New Managers Help Improve Firm Performance? An Exploratory Study in Russian Privatization. Journal of World Business, 38(4), 348–360.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Pistor, K., Raiser, M. and Gelfer, S. 2000. Law and Finance in Transition Economies, Economics of Transition 8(2), 325–368.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Puffer, S.M. and McCarthy, D.J. 2003. The Emergence of Corporate Governance in Russia. Journal of World Business, 38(4), 284–298.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Robertson, C.J., Gilley, K.M., and Street, M.D. 2003. The Relationship between Ethics and Firm Practices in Russia and the United States. Journal of World Business, 38(4), 375–384.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Roth, K. and Kostova, T. 2003. Organizational Coping with Institutional Upheaval in Transition Economies. Journal of World Business, 38(4), 314–330.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Russian Corporate Governance Roundtable website http://www.corp-gov.org/

    Google Scholar 

  • Russian Institute of Directors website www.rid.ru

    Google Scholar 

  • Russian Institute of Directors. 2003. Structure and Activities of Boards of Directors of Russian Joint-Stock Companies. Moscow: Russian Institute of Directors. www.rid.ru

    Google Scholar 

  • Russian Institute of Directors. 2002. Corporate Governance Code (April 5), Moscow: Russian Institute of Directors, www.rid.ru.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wagner, J., Stimpert, J., & Fubara, E. 1998. Board Composition and Organizational Performance: Two Studies of Insider/Outsider Effects. Journal of Management Studies, 35(5), 655–677.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • World Bank Corporate Governance website http://www.worldbank.org/html/fpd/privatesector/cg/

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

Copyright information

© 2005 Springer Science + Business Media, Inc.

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

(2005). Recent Developments in Corporate Governance. In: Accounting and Financial System Reform in a Transition Economy: A Case Study of Russia. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-23887-5_4

Download citation