How Can the Corporations Law in Australia Be Changed to Prevent Another HIH Collapse?

Determining appropriateness would depend on the paradigm one is coming from. In relation to the events in Australia, then the CLERP 9 recommendations, if they were in place at the time would have had an enormous effect of if not preventing, then minimising the damage caused by the HIH collapse. Whether CLERP 9 recommendations would have made a retro-spective difference to Enron is not entirely clear, however due to the nature of the Enron collapse, the CLERP 9 recommendations seem to provide thorough and sufficient remedies.
As for the Sarbans-Oxley Act 2002, there is not doubt in this writer's mind that it would have certainly impacted upon a company such as HIH. The management would most certainly have been more diligent had they been acting under such legislation, and indeed, the audit function would have been one of a much higher integrity due to the restrictions that the Act sets in place upon auditors.
Thus, in determining which of the two approaches is the most appropriate, only time will tell. However the measuring stick will not only be whether companies now have better corporate governance, but whether as a result of that governance, the companies are performing well and the interests of sharholders and stakeholders alike are served.
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