ABSTRACT
From the outset it is necessary to emphasise that there is a substantial difference in most legal jurisdictions between the treatment of private companies and public companies in what is usually referred to as ‘corporate governance’. From the outset it is necessary to emphasise that there is a substantial difference in most legal jurisdictions between the treatment of private companies and public companies in what is usually referred to as ‘corporate governance’. Much of corporate governance is concerned with corporate social responsibility issues of who is entitled to what rewards from a business – the distribution of the rewards that accrue from trading. Perhaps a less specific formulation might be taken as the purpose of corporate governance: Corporate governance is really about holding the balance between economic and social goals and between individual and communal goals, through legal, ethical and moral behaviour. The aim is to as nearly as possible align the interests of individuals, corporations and society.
