The previous chapter examined the incremental developments in corporate governance in
the UK from the Cadbury Committee to the UK Corporate Governance Code of 2010. This
chapter examines the parallel initiatives in the US and its own unique catalysts for corporate
governance and internal controls. While stock exchanges and governments around the world
have clearly followed the developments in corporate governance in the UK, events in the US
have directly influenced the specific course of action that it has followed. The highly publicised
events surrounding the collapse of Enron and WorldCom, rather than just colouring
the US’s approach to corporate governance, prompted what might be termed a more radical
approach than that seen in the UK, resulting in new legislation – the Public Company Accounting
Reform and Investor Protection Act 2002, also known as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
Chapter 4 describes the tumultuous global financial crisis and the changes in legislation it
prompted.