Accountable Corporation

In recent years, issues of business ethics, social responsibility, and accountability have been at the forefront of corporate policymaking and public concerns. Dramatic stories of abuse of stakeholder trust and outright criminal behavior at companies like Enron, Global Crossing, and Tyco have triggered a reexamination of the role of corporations in society and of the responsibilities of executives, managers, and board members—and the accountants who are supposed to watch over them.

This landmark set of essays brings new clarity to the issues, as societies around the world begin to hold corporations and their leaders to higher standards of conduct. Covering a huge array of topics from white collar crime to community partnerships, whistle blowing to corporate philanthropy, and featuring insights from the world's leading academics, business leaders, and consultants, including strategy guru Michael Porter, Enron whistleblower Sherron Watkins, and famed international corporate attorney, Ira Milllstein, The Accountable Corporation provides provocative analysis, cultural and historical context, and emerging solutions from the public, private, and non-profit sectors toward more responsible, ethical, and accountable business.

In recent years, issues of business ethics, social responsibility, and accountability have been at the forefront of corporate, policymaking, and public concerns. Dramatic stories of abuse of stakeholder trust and outright criminal behavior at companies like Enron, Global Crossing, and Tyco have triggered a reexamination of the role of corporations in society and the responsibilities of executives, managers, and board members--and the accountants who are supposed to watch over them. This landmark set of essays brings new clarity to the issues, as societies around the world begin to hold corporations and their leaders to higher standards of conduct. Covering a huge array of topics from white collar crime to community partnerships, whistle blowing to corporate philanthropy, and featuring insights from the world's leading academics, business leaders, and consultants, including strategy guru Michael Porter, Enron whistleblower Sherron Watkins, and famed international corporate attorney, Ira Milllstein, The Accountable Corporation provides provocative analysis, cultural and historical context, and emerging solutions from the public, private, and non-profit sectors toward more responsible, ethical, and accountable business. Volume 1 provides in-depth discussion of corporate governance, with emphasis on the legal and institutional implications of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which led to extensive changes in corporate procedures, controls, and reporting. Topics covered include the historical evolution of governance, the roles and responsibilities of directors and institutional investors, and efforts to improve corporate leadership in an age of public scrutiny. Contributors include:

MARC J. EPSTEIN is Distinguished Research Professor of Management, Jones Graduate School of Management, Rice University, and Visiting Professor and Hansjoerg Wyss Visiting Scholar in Social Enterprise at the Harvard Business School. Previously, he held positions at Stanford Business School and INSEAD (the European Institute of Business Administration). A specialist in corporate strategy, governance, and performance management, he is the author or coauthor of over 100 academic and professional papers and a dozen books, including Implementing E-Commerce Strategies (Praeger, 2004). He currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of the journal, Advances in Management Accounting.

KIRK O. HANSON is Executive Director of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics and University Professor of Organizations and Society at Santa Clara University. In 2001, he retired from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, where he served in a variety of teaching, research, and administrative capacities over 23 years. A specialist in ethical behavior of corporations, he writes regularly on the subject, and has served on the boards of several foundations and organizations, including The Business Enterprise Trust and the Social Venture Network.