This paper reviews the tasks and design of audit committees, increasingly recommended as a way to strengthen financial accountability and good central bank governance. It outlines the motivations for the establishment of audit committees in commercial corporations and public sector entities, and...

Israel’s compliance with International Organization of Securities Commissions’ objectives and Principles of Securities Regulation has been assessed. The regulatory regime is well developed and in most respects is comparable with that of major jurisdictions. For the most part, it is...

This paper discusses a detailed assessment report on the observance of China’s compliance with the International Organization of Securities Commission's objectives and principles of securities regulation. The reform of nontradable shares introduced a market-based pricing system for...

This study reviews selected issues on investor protection and corporate governance in Australia, and concludes that the corporate governance framework for Australian-listed companies is largely healthy and dynamic. Shareholder activism is an important element of corporate governance because it...

This paper presents Detailed Assessment of the United States’s implementation of the International Organization of Securities Commissions’ Objectives and Principles of Securities Regulation. The general preconditions for effective securities regulation in the United States are...

This assessment reviews the regulatory framework in place for the oversight of the capital markets of the Russian Federation as of June 2011. The Russian securities markets, in particular, have been volatile, reflecting the inflow and outflow of money and the crisis. Foreign investment banks...

This paper investigates the effect of fiscal transparency on market assessments of sovereign risk, as measured by credit ratings. It measures this effect through a direct channel (uncertainty reduction) and an indirect channel (better fiscal policies and outcomes), and it differentiates between...

The paper notes that the development of sound budgetary institutions in countries such as France, the U.K. and the U.S. has taken a very long time?200 years or more?and is still evolving. It discusses Douglass North's prediction?which is supported by available data?that institutional reform is...

This assessment of the Basel Core Principles for Effective Banking Supervision has been completed as part of the IMF Offshore Financial Center (OFC) assessment program. First, the assessment benchmarks the current state of banking supervision, recognizing that there have been extensive changes...

The German financial system is complex and highly diversified. The second most important class of financial institutions is insurance and pension companies. Germany has taken steps to enhance accounting and auditing practices and to align corporate governance with best international practices....