Author Archives: Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation

Sarbanes-Oxley and Corporate Risk-Taking

In our paper, Sarbanes-Oxley and Corporate Risk-Taking, which was recently accepted for publication in the Journal of Accounting and Economics, we empirically examine whether the adoption of SOX is associated with a subsequent decline in corporate risk-taking. We examine whether several measures of corporate risk-taking changed significantly after SOX was signed into law in 2002 […]

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Posted in Academic Research, Empirical Research, Legislative & Regulatory Developments | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Proxy Access Proposed Rules Published by SEC

On June 10, 2009, the SEC published a proxy access rule proposal for public comment. The Commission’s release, entitled “Facilitating Shareholder Director Nominations,” gives concrete form to the broad objectives the Commission outlined at its May 20, 2009 open meeting (at which it approved publication of the rule by three votes to two). As expected, […]

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Posted in Corporate Elections & Voting, Legislative & Regulatory Developments, Mergers & Acquisitions, Practitioner Publications, Securities Regulation | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Proxy Access Proposed Rules Published by SEC

A New Foundation for Financial Regulation?

In our memorandum, available here, we describe the Obama Administration’s White Paper on Financial Regulatory Reform. The White Paper is just the beginning of what is likely to be a legislative, regulatory and ideological marathon, despite the Administration’s best efforts to achieve domestic political support before its publication. It is far less revolutionary than some […]

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Posted in Financial Crisis, Financial Regulation, Practitioner Publications, Securities Regulation | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on A New Foundation for Financial Regulation?

CFO Incentives Post-SOX

In our forthcoming Journal of Accounting Research paper, CFO Fiduciary Responsibilities and Annual Bonus Incentives, we examine how firms evaluate and compensate their CFOs. In addition to participating in decision making much like other senior executives, CFOs also have fiduciary responsibilities for reporting firms’ financial results and safeguarding the integrity of financial reporting. Although other […]

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Posted in Academic Research, Accounting & Disclosure, Empirical Research, Executive Compensation, Legislative & Regulatory Developments | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Dutch decision has implications for global class actions

Summary In an important development for class action suits in the United States and internationally, the Amsterdam Court of Appeals recently upheld a settlement between Royal Dutch Shell and a group of more than 150 institutional investors from 17 European countries, Canada, and Australia. The proposed settlement originally emerged in 2007 after Royal Dutch Shell […]

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Posted in Court Cases, International Corporate Governance & Regulation, Legislative & Regulatory Developments, Practitioner Publications | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Dutch decision has implications for global class actions

Improving the Role of the Securities Regulators in a Changing Global Financial System

Good morning. And, thank you Hans [Hoogervorst, Chairman, Authority for the Financial Markets, Netherland, and Vice Chair of the IOSCO Technical Committee] for that kind introduction. I’m delighted to be speaking with you today — even though it’s after 2:00 in the morning here in Washington. But, the way I see it, investor protection doesn’t […]

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Posted in Financial Crisis, Financial Regulation, Practitioner Publications, Regulators Materials, Securities Regulation, Speeches & Testimony | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Improving the Role of the Securities Regulators in a Changing Global Financial System

My Last ExxonMobil Annual Meeting

Walking to the Myerson Symphony Center past the various galleries, statues and plantings in the Arts District of downtown Dallas during the last week of May is a contemplative experience for me. As a Boston Irishman, I cannot but remember the fate of Jack Kennedy in this seemingly gentle, indeed beautiful, city. Living now year […]

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Posted in Boards of Directors, Corporate Elections & Voting, Practitioner Publications | Tagged , | Comments Off on My Last ExxonMobil Annual Meeting

Business Networks

Business connections can mitigate agency conflicts by facilitating efficient information transfers, but can also be channels for inefficient favoritism. In my forthcoming Journal of Finance paper Business Networks, Corporate Governance, and Contracting in the Mutual Fund Industry, I analyze the extent to which these effects are present in the mutual fund industry, and measure their […]

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Recent GAO Report on Sovereign Wealth Funds

Government investment funds, often referred to as “sovereign wealth funds,” have become increasingly visible investors in the United States, a trend that has not escaped the attention of Congress. A series of recent investments led the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee to raise concerns in 2008 over national security and the possible impact […]

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Posted in Accounting & Disclosure, Financial Regulation, Legislative & Regulatory Developments, Practitioner Publications | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The Rules of the Game

Professor Lucian Bebchuk will be writing a monthly column for Project Syndicate, an international association of 425 newspapers in 150 countries, with a total circulation of about 56 million copies. The series of columns sponsored by the association seeks to bring distinguished voices from across the world to audiences in member newspapers’ countries. Professor Bebchuk’s […]

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Posted in Financial Regulation, HLS Research, International Corporate Governance & Regulation, Op-Eds & Opinions | Tagged , , | Comments Off on The Rules of the Game