Problem: Please assist to provide multiple scholarly peer-reviewed journal articles between 2018 - 2023 with APA 7 references to support the information below.
Corporate governance failures are the result of poor oversight, accountability, and transparency by the board of directors and senior management of a company, which can lead to unethical, illegal, or irresponsible actions that harm the interests of shareholders, stakeholders, and society.
Some examples of corporate governance failures that occurred in recent years are:
The Boeing-Cambridge Analytica scandal, which involved the misuse of personal data of millions of Facebook users for political purposes without their consent or knowledge. This scandal raised serious questions about the ethical responsibilities of social media platforms, data analytics firms, and political actors in protecting the privacy and autonomy of individuals and groups. The scandal also exposed how Facebook failed to inform the users or take adequate measures to secure their data, and how Cambridge Analytica used the data to create psychological profiles of voters and target them with personalized political ads in the 2016 US presidential election and the Brexit referendum
The Enron scandal, which involved the manipulation of accounting rules and financial reports to hide billions of dollars of debt and losses from investors and regulators. This scandal revealed how Enron's board of directors and senior executives engaged in fraudulent and deceptive practices to inflate the company's stock price and enrich themselves at the expense of shareholders, employees, and customers. The scandal also showed how Enron's auditor, Arthur Andersen, failed to perform its duty of independent verification and oversight, and instead colluded with Enron to conceal the irregularities.
The Lehman Brothers collapse, which triggered the global financial crisis of 2008. This collapse was caused by Lehman's excessive leverage and risky investments in subprime mortgages and derivatives, which resulted in huge losses when the housing market crashed. This collapse exposed how Lehman's board of directors and senior management failed to monitor and control the company's risk exposure and liquidity position, and how they used accounting tricks to hide the true extent of their financial problems from investors and regulators.
These examples illustrate how corporate governance failures can have devastating consequences for the company itself, as well as for its shareholders, stakeholders, and society at large. Corporate governance failures can lead to:
Loss of shareholder confidence and trust, which can result in lower stock prices, reduced dividends, lawsuits, and bankruptcy.
Loss of stakeholder loyalty and satisfaction, which can result in lower revenues, higher costs, damaged reputation, boycotts, and sanctions.
Loss of social legitimacy and responsibility, which can result in negative externalities, environmental degradation, human rights violations, social unrest, and regulatory backlash.
Therefore, corporate governance failures are a serious threat to the sustainability and performance of a company, as well as to the stability and welfare of the society. To prevent or mitigate such failures, companies need to adopt effective corporate governance practices that ensure oversight, accountability, and transparency by the board of directors and senior management. In addition, companies need to align their corporate governance with the interests and expectations of their shareholders, stakeholders, and society. In the next paragraph, I will discuss some of the best practices and principles of corporate governance that can help achieve these goals.