Gatekeepers the professions and corporate governance - Coffee, John C. (Oxford University Press, 2006)
Includes bibliographical references and index
List of Figures; List of Tables; 1. Introduction; Part I. What Happened?; 2. The Failure of the Gatekeepers; 3. Explaining Gatekeeper Failure; 4. A Comparative Perspective; Part II. The Development of Gatekeepers; An Overview; 5. The Rise, Fall, and Redefinition of the Auditor: From Bookkeeper to Professional to Information Consultant; 6. Corporate Attorneys as Gatekeepers: The Short History of a Developing Concept; 7. Securities Analysts; 8. The Ratings Agencies; Part III. The Search for Reform; 9. What Went Wrong?; 10. What Should Work? (and How to Get There)
John Coffee, a leading international expert on business and law, traces the evolution of the four main 'gatekeeping' professions: auditors, lawyers, securities analysts, and credit-rating agencies. Against the backdrop of 'the failure of the dogs to bark' at Enron and Worldcom, he examines the role and development of these professions. - ;In the wake of a series of corporate governance disasters in the US and Europe which have gained almost mythic status - Enron, WorldCom, Tyco, Adelphia, HealthSouth, Parmalat - one question has not yet been addressed. A number of 'gatekeeping' professions - a