Corporate Governance

Governance mechanisms are considered to be effective if they meet the needs of all stakeholders, including shareholders. Governance mechanisms are also an important way to ensure that strategic decisions are made effectively. As a potential employee, how would you go about investigating a firm's governance structure? Would that investigation weigh in your decision to become an employee?

Identify a firm that you would like to join or one that you just find interesting. Complete the following research on your target firm:

Find a copy of the company's most recent proxy statement and 10-K. Proxy statements are mailed to shareholders prior to each year's annual meeting and contain detailed information about the company's governance and present issues on which a shareholder vote might be held.

Proxy statements are typically available from a firm's website (look for an "Investors" submenu). You can also access proxy statements and other government filings such as the 10-K from the SEC's EDGAR database.

Click here to access SEC's EDGAR database.

Alongside the proxy, you should also be able to access the firm's annual 10-K. Here you will find information on performance, governance, and the firm's outlook, among other things.

Identify one of the company's main competitors for comparison purposes. You can find this information using company analysis tools such as Datamonitor.