Insights into corporate governance and risk: Exploring systems from Germany, the United States and the United Kingdom

Corporate governance is part of risk management but risk management is also part of corporate governance, so the relationship between the two is fascinating and worth exploring. This chapter explores aspects of corporate governance and its relation to risk. Poor corporate governance can lead to increased organisational risk. In discussing corporate governance the chapter explores three different countries: the UK, the US and Germany. The chapter also discusses the background to corporate governance, emphasising why corporate governance is needed. It examines the theory that underpins corporate governance. Much of corporate governance regulation in the US largely came about as a result of various accounting scandals. Accounting and governance scandals seem to continue to be unstoppable even in seemingly well constituted companies. Corporate governance issues are not purely restricted to financial misdemeanours. Directors' behaviour at one company can often imitate that at another in line with institutional theory