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Stanford Closer Look Series

The Stanford Closer Look series is a collection of short studies through which we explore topics, issues, and controversies in corporate governance. In each study, we take a targeted look at a specific issue and explain why it is important.

Nicholas E. Donatiello, David F. Larcker, Brian Tayan
Stanford Closer Look Series. Corporate Governance Research Initiative, Rock Center for Corporate Governance, March
2016

CEO compensation is a highly controversial subject. While most company directors believe that CEO pay is not a problem, the majority of the American public believes that it is. The...

David F. Larcker, Brian Tayan
Stanford Closer Look Series. Corporate Governance Research Initiative (CGRI), October
2015

Corporate governance experts pay considerable attention to issues involving the board of directors. Because of the scope of the board’s role and the vast responsibilities that come with directorship, companies...

David F. Larcker, Brian Tayan
Stanford Closer Look Series. Corporate Governance Research Initiative (CGRI), October
2015

For much of its history, Berkshire Hathaway has been regarded primarily as the investment vehicle of Warren Buffett rather than a bona fide corporation. However, as Berkshire Hathaway has expanded...

David F. Larcker, Brian Tayan, Youfei Xiao
Stanford Closer Look Series. July
2015

In recent years, companies have begun to voluntarily disclose alternative measures of CEO compensation. These figures differ — sometimes significantly — from those reported in the summary compensation tables of...

David F. Larcker, Brian Tayan
Stanford Closer Look Series. April
2015

Corporate leaders pay considerable attention to the strategy and finances of their organizations but often less attention to organizational features that impact whether their strategy is successful, including the decision-making...

Nicholas E. Donatiello, David F. Larcker, Brian Tayan
Stanford Closer Look Series. April
2015

For-profit and nonprofit organizations exist for different reasons: for-profits to generate a return on investment for shareholders, and nonprofits to pursue charitable and social activities unrelated to commerce. The obligations...

Stanford Closer Look|
David F. Larcker, Brian Tayan
Stanford Closer Look Series. February
2015

Institutional investors are highly dissatisfied with the quality of information that they receive about corporate governance policies and practices in the annual proxy. Across the board, they want proxies to...

David F. Larcker, Brian Tayan, Christina Zhu
Stanford Closer Look Series. December
2014

Corporate governance experts pay considerable attention to the composition of the full board of directors. And yet, much of the substantive work of the board is carried out by committee....

Stanford Closer Look|
David F. Larcker, Stephen A. Miles, Brian Tayan
Stanford Closer Look Series. November
2014

The shareholders of public corporations have considerable interest in the choice of individual to serve as CEO of their company. They want to be assured that the company has a...

David F. Larcker, Gaizka Ormazabal, Brian Tayan, Daniel J. Taylor
Stanford Closer Look Series. September
2014

This Closer Look illustrates the relation between executive compensation and organizational risk through the context of the financial crisis of 2008. We demonstrate that the incentives that bankers had to...