Assess the social and other consequences of such significant corporate losses and scandals, concluding whether such organisations can be considered truly socially responsible

Critically appraise the corporate governance, risk management and internal control weaknesses which contribute to company failings and scandals, by reference to a corporate scandal of your choosing

This Is not a case study about Lehman and its history, its about assessing the company from a Corporate Governance , Internal Controls , Risk, Ethics and Corporate responsibility perspective. 

In answering this question, you should:

• assess the social and other consequences of such significant corporate losses and scandals, concluding whether such organisations can be considered truly socially responsible
• analyse the principal weaknesses in corporate governance and risk management that may have contributed to the demise of or scandals in such companies
• present your views on what should be done in future to ensure that corporate management uphold the highest possible standards of integrity and social responsibility, as expected of them by society at large, in managing and controlling the organisations and resources for which they are accountable.

You should use a recent company failing or scandal of your own choosing to support your evaluation. Examples of scandals appropriate for such analysis include British Home Stores (BHS) in 2016 and Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) in 2008. Please read the Assignment Approach Advice (attached)

Unit Learning Outcomes Assessed.  

1. Evaluate the role and function of governance in the effective management and control of organisations and the resources for which they are accountable

2. Appraise the key roles of internal control and risk management within organisations.

3. Critically review professional and ethical matters that affect how global businesses are effectively co‐ordinated.

Format: Word document - Line spacing: 2.0 Justify text

Font: 12point Times New Roman

Structure:  See the suggested structure in the assessment description.  

References should be listed alphabetically at the end and be in the Harvard Reference Style  ~ 15 or more
Length: Maximum 3,000 words.

Penalties for Overlong Assessments

All final assessments for Global Online units are subject to the following mark reduction penalties:

Amount the submitted work is in excess of the provided guidance	Effect on final mark
0% - 10%	None
11% - 30%	Mark reduced by 10%
= 31%	Mark capped at 50%

Structure:

1- Please see Lehman essay example structure page iv (attached) to give you an idea of the structure you can follow as a guide.

The assessment preparation task is intended to provide a brief introduction and outline the structure that I aim to cover in the final assessment for this module. I will start by briefly touching upon the historical background of Lehman Brothers, banking regulatory framework and the Steagall act.
I will then start by assessing and identifying the deficiencies and failures of the corporate governance players, risk management and audit at Lehman Brothers. In the final sections, I will briefly identify some of the regulatory reforms and accords that were developed due to the collapse of Lehman Brothers and financial crisis, namely Dodd–Frank Basel framework.  I will include and outline ethical considerations and recommendations as part of my conclusion.

Feedback from Tutor:

The choice of company is fine. You should make sure that you cover the required Corporate Governance and Internal Controls issues relating to the scandal. Examples may include:

· Incompetent management, bullied auditors, oblivious regulator, enchanted political class

· flaws in regulatory oversight

· Focusing on market share, profits, outstripping competitors and hitting targets to grow all that mattered. Expansion and growth key above everything else

· failure of leadership

· board failure to understand risk

· culture failing to balance risk and return

· excessive focus on market share and short-term profitability etc

Take care that referencing, and citations is according to Harvard style.