Purpose
To enable you to research and explore an aspect of corporate law governance and regulation. It is important for you to have time to think through how to structure and present arguments, and to review and discuss what the law is or should be in a particular area. Whilst discussion with others is encouraged, the final piece of work must be your own.
The Assignment will be marked out of 100 and is worth 35% of your total mark for the BULAW5915 course.
Word Limit
2,300-2,500 (assignments exceeding the word limit may not be marked and may be returned to the student for re-writing; assignments less than the required length will risk not covering the topic adequately and may result in a fail). Do not include synopsis, references or bibliography in the word count.
Part A
Attention in the media has once again focused on corporate governance, that is, how companies are regulated by governments and how they are managed internally.
With reference to corporations registered in Australia, critically discuss whether better governed corporations outperform poorly governed corporations in Australia
Your discussion is expected to include explanation and analysis of
o what is good corporate governance, what mechanisms play a role in corporate governance in Australia and why good corporate governance is relevant for key stakeholders generally
o key financial measures that generally determine the performance of a corporation's governance; with an evaluation of the performance of Australian corporations' boards of directors in the light of these measures
o whether current Australian legal regulation of directors duties is adequate to protect corporate directors
Part B
A continuing debate in corporate governance is whether there is a positive correlation between an 'independent board' (ie a board consisting of a majority of independent directors) and good corporate performance.
Task:
Identify arguments that support the proposal that there is such a positive correlation, and arguments that refute the proposal. Limit your discussion to corporations registered in Australia.