Approaches to corporate governance worldwide

This study examines a number of corporate governance Codes currently in use by countries around the world from the perspective of an investor from a country that uses the Anglo-Saxon Board model. The corporate governance Codes from Belgium, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Malta, Netherlands, Russia, Sweden, Turkey, the UK, and the USA are compared against the Australian Stock Exchange's 'Principles of Good Corporate Governance and Best Practice Recommendations (2003)'. The results of the analysis help contrast the different corporate governance Codes. The conclusion that is drawn is that if an investor understands the Australian Code, they are in a good position to effectively evaluate a foreign Code.