Incluye bibliografía

Foreword -- Acknowledgments -- Overview -- 1. A framework for better corporate governance -- 2. Priorities for reforming systems of corporate governance -- 3. The role of the Bank and its partners -- Annexes: 1. Regional diversity in corporate governance reform in developing countries -- 2. Corporate governance in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Japan -- 3. Improving management oversight by the board of directors -- 4a. Overview of corporate governance guidelines and codes of best practice in developing and emerging markets -- 4b. International comparison of board "best practices" in developing and emerging markets -- 4c. Partial listing of corporate governance guidelines and codes of "best practice" -- 5a. International accounting and auditing standards -- 5b. Comparison of international accounting standards and US generally accepted accounting principles -- 6. World Bank lending operations -- References

This report is the outcome of a close working partnership between the public, and private sectors. It builds on what has gone before, but broadens its scope, encompassing the widely differing regimes, political, economic, and social, within which corporations carry on their activities worldwide. The report stipulates there can be no single, generally applicable corporate governance model; however, from lessons learned, the Bank Group has set the mechanisms for such an exchange of experience. The report recognizes the complexity of the very concept of corporate governance, and thus focuses on the principles on which it is based. These principles - such as transparency, accountability, fairness, and responsibility - are universal in their application. And, the way these are put into practice, has to be determined by those with responsibility for implementing them. The report emphasizes governance initiatives win most support when driven from the bottom up, rather than from the top down. It reviews why corporate governance matters, by balancing diverging interests, into en internal and external architecture. The internal architecture defines the relationships among key players in the corporation, while the external rules provide a level playing field, keeping players in line, specifying globalization is bringing harmonization. In particular, the report states a mix of regulatory, and private voluntary actions are key to success, through ownership with due diligence as the solution.