Corporate Aftershock: The Public Policy Lessons from the Collapse of Enron and Other Major Corporations - Hardcover

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

CHRISTOPHER L. CULP, PhD, is an Adjunct Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business, a Principal at CP Risk Management LLC and Chicago Partners LLC, and a Senior Fellow in Financial Regulation at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. He is the author of three other books, Risk Transfer, The ART of Risk Management, and The Risk Management Process, all published by Wiley, and co-editor (with Merton H. Miller) of Corporate Hedging in Theory and Practice from Risk Publications. He holds a BA in economics from The Johns Hopkins University and a PhD in finance from the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business.
WILLIAM A. NISKANEN, PhD, has been chairman of the Cato Institute since 1985. Previously, he was acting chairman of President Reagan's Council of Economic Advisors. One of the most highly regarded microeconomists in the nation, Niskanen has taught economics at the University of California at Berkeley and Los Angeles. He has also served as director of economics at Ford Motor Company and as a defense analyst for the Pentagon, the RAND Corporation, and the Institute for Defense Analyses. He holds a BA from Harvard and a PhD in economics from the University of Chicago.

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Praise for Corporate Aftershock

"In the near future, someone will build a better Enron?a legitimate company with the means and integrity to revolutionize markets. That person will want to use Corporate Aftershock as his business manual and had better hope that government regulators are reading it as well."
?Ross M. Miller, author, Paving Wall Street, coauthor, What Went Wrong at Enron

"During periods of crisis, it?s important for us to have an unemotional and objective analysis that can help us better understand the consequences of policy alternatives before the political process overwhelms sensible choices. Fraud and deceit are not common characteristics of our highly successful market economy. This volume recognizes this and presents a well-thought-out alternative that needs to be read and understood by all voters."
?Joel Stern, Managing Partner
Stern Stewart & Co.

"The effects of recent corporate and accounting scandals continue to be felt in financial markets and the economy. Predictably, these events have touched off a cry for Washington to ?do something so it never happens again.? The cry has already been answered, but the pressure for more regulation continues. This book, centered on the granddaddy of recent scandals, the Enron implosion, argues forcefully that this reflexive call-the-cops response may do more harm than good. Many skilled contributors dissect a variety of accounting, corporate governance, and financial management issues that have arisen in the aftermath of Enron and similar events. The articles in the book provide helpful perspective not only on what went wrong but on the important market forces that created firms like Enron and that will not soon go away. The book is a useful antidote to the steady diet of recrimination and scapegoating that have dominated recent public debate about these matters. It will also be useful to specialists in accounting and risk management who have been left to cope with the issues that have emerged in the wake of these seismic events."
?Sam Peltzman, Professor of Economics
Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago

"The greatest tragedy of the Enron debacle is not likely to be the consequences of its bankruptcy, but from the erroneous institutional reforms that will take hold if its causes are not well understood. This thorough and thoughtful set of essays touches on all aspects of Enron, from accounting practices, to disclosure requirements, to trading strategies, to corporate governance, rate regulation, and much more. It is essential reading for those who want to walk the fine line between complacency in the face of failure and overreaction through excessive regulation."
?Richard A. Epstein, professor of Law
University of Chicago, senior fellow, Hoover Institution

Aus dem Klappentext

In the wake of Enron?s implosion and other major corporate meltdowns, there have been hasty calls for stricter laws to regulate the markets and products in which these companies were involved. But without proper analysis of the situation, these responses may unknowingly cause greater damage to the economy and investors than the original events. To avoid rushing into politically charged action and ensure that appropriate measures are implemented, we must first take the time to consider what really went wrong, then carefully decide how to prevent a repeat of such corporate disasters.

In an effort to curb the unnecessary "man-made aftershocks" that continue to ripple throughout the business world today, Corporate Aftershock: The Public Policy Lessons from the Collapse of Enron and Other Major Corporations has been written as a reasoned, informed response to the numerous proposals to restrict derivatives, stifle structured financing activities, and amend shareholder protection principles and practices following the failure of Enron and other corporations. Editors Christopher Culp and William Niskanen have assembled an expert cast of contributors, each of whom are leaders in their respective fields?from credit risk management to energy and derivatives markets?to provide an unbiased public policy analysis of the failure of Enron and other major corporations.

Comprised of five distinct sections, Corporate Aftershock offers an in-depth examination and straightforward explanation of issues that focus on the policy lessons specific to the markets Enron traded in, as well as the specialized financial instruments it used in its endeavors.

Topics discussed include:

• Corporate innovation and governance
• Energy and derivatives markets after Enron
• Structured finance
• Credit risk mitigation
• Regulating corporate innovation after Enron

Was Enron an innovator, a sham, or a bit of both? What can we learn from Enron?s failure that might impact the future operation and regulation of energy and derivatives markets? What role did accounting and disclosure policies play in Enron?s abuse of otherwise legitimate structured finance activities? Without rushing to judgment, Corporate Aftershock answers these and many other questions. Dealing with corporate disasters through hasty reactions rarely solves the true problems. With Corporate Aftershock as your guide, you?ll learn what sensible solutions can be made in the wake of fallout from corporate disasters.