There is significant concern in the United States that the costly corporate law reforms introduced by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) are causing companies to delist from stock exchanges and deregister their securities with the Securities and Exchange Commission (ie, quot;go darkquot;). The...

The objective of this paper is to provide a critical appraisal of the rationales for mandatory corporate disclosure rules. Following preliminary observations concerning voluntary disclosure, the authors commence the main discussion with an examination of various rationales for mandatory...

Retail managed investments schemes (or mutual funds) operating in Australia are regulated under the Corporations Act through financial services licensing in conjunction with the imposition of statutory duties on scheme operators and their officers. Compliance committees and compliance plans are...

There has been a lack of analysis of the justification for trustees in collective investment schemes. Yet a study of the topic is pertinent because of the prominent position occupied by trustees in certain schemes. One possible justification for trustees, considered in this paper, is the...

It is mandatory for companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange whose reporting periods end on or after 30 June 1996 to disclose their main corporate governance practices in place during the reporting period: ASX Listing Rule 4.10.3. This study seeks to determine the extent to which...

This paper examines accounting and non-accounting based restrictive covenants in Australian private debt agreements. With respect to the former, our findings differ from previous research on public debt. We find more varied definitions of constraints and their specific tightness in private debt...

Phoenix activity causes significant economic harm. In this research note the authors commence by identifying several reasons why harmful phoenix activity is prevalent. They then identify a multifaceted approach to curbing harmful phoenix activity. That approach is to make all phoenix activity...

The recent decision of the United Kingdom Supreme Court in Eclairs Group Limited v JKX Oil & Gas plc highlights the pressures faced by company directors in change of control situations, in which they may be tempted to take action to prevent or discourage such change. The Supreme Court decision...

Bankruptcy is widely regarded as a means of rehabilitation for debtors in severe financial hardship. To date, however, there have been few attempts to study its long term impact on individuals' finances, health, social relationships and general quality of life. The authors address this gap in...