Assessing Elements of Corporate Governance: A Suggested Approach

Joyce A. Ostrosky, PhD, CPA, CMA, and Linda M. Leinicke, PhD, CPA, and John Digenan, and W. Max Rexroad, PhD, CPA

Assessing corporate governance is elusive at best. The tone at the top, codes of conduct, quality and effectiveness of ethics programs, and fraud prevention efforts are all critical pieces of corporate governance that are challenging to assess. In today's highly regulated environment, such assessments are no longer optional—all organizations must face this challenge. Given the inherently subjective nature of this task, how should CPAs—as internal auditors, external auditors, or consultants—cast about in the uncharted waters of corporate governance assessment?