No Accounting for Government: Applying Corporate Governance Principles to Elected Officials

Abstract

To address the agency problem, corporate governance legislation has placed stringent requirements on the behaviour of individuals appointed to company boardrooms and senior management positions. In contrast, there is an absence of robust governance frameworks for politicians and their advisors. This is problematic given the delegation of decisions making authority by the public and the adverse consequences of poor decisions and unscrupulous behaviour on societal well-being. Accordingly, this paper draws on the tenets of corporate governance legislation and outlines how application of a similar framework within government has the potential to improve the efficacy and transparency of its decisions.