Foundations and Principles of Corporate Governance

The concept of corporate governance emerged and developed in turn influenced by economic environments based on family property, bank capital, institutional investors or public limited visibility environments activation of the scandals that have occurred over time. Surprisingly, those moments of crisis had a beneficial effect on identifying ways to improve corporate governance concept, corresponding to the new phase of the global economy. In this process and have contributed professionals from countries like USA, England, France or Italy, specialists, towards the end of last century, concluded the "reports" them on some of the key issues to be taken into mind when analyzing a company's management mechanism. Of these highlight: Cadbury Report, Greenbury Report, Report Pébereau, Vienot Report, Marini Report and, more recently, Sarbanes - Oxley Act. Its corporate governance has, however, originated in research and earlier studies. In the 20th century, after the Wall Street crisis occurred in 1929, a number of researchers, like Adolf Augustus Berle, Edwin Dodd and Gardiner C. Means, through their work, have caused the changing role of the modern corporation in society is beginning debate on corporate governance. Berle and Means's monograph, "The Modern Corporation and Private Property," continues still have a profound influence on the design of corporate governance in academic debates today. This article aims to present the main stages of the evolution of the concept of corporate governance, some of the fundamental aspects related to the management system and the principles underlying the application of corporate governance. In the preparation of this article are numerous studies and bibliographic documentation, national and international, both classical literature and the online environment.