Recent financial crises and instances of corporate malpractice have prompted many questions about how companies are run - and whether this tallies with how they should be run. This book systematically explores the factors that shape corporate governance, and discusses both those governance practices implemented by companies and those imposed by regulators. It also tries to determine how good corporate governance can help companies to create value for their shareholders. To illustrate that some practices are global while others are appropriate only in certain settings, case studies of individual companies from Europe, Asia, North and South America are discussed in each chapter. Corporate Governance: Theory and Practice is firmly grounded in academic literature and packed with empirical evidence from around the world, making it an ideal book for students of business, management, finance, accounting and law taking a one-term course in the subject. It offers considerable lecturer and student support, both in the text itself and on the accompanying website: www.palgrave.com/finance/padgett