Corporate Governance – A comparative analysis of the approach to corporate governance regulation and enforcement in the UK and the US

Corporations play a crucial role in the functioning of global economies. As a result, the importance of regulating corporate behaviour continues to be a topic of great debate. Despite the introduction of corporate governance regulations over two decades ago, instances of corporate misconduct continue to emerge, which calls into question the effectiveness of corporate governance regulations to prevent and detect corporate misconduct. It is well accepted that regulations alone cannot prevent misconduct. To be effective, regulations must be adequately enforced. The UK and U.S. have adopted two different approaches to regulating corporate behaviour. While the UK has adopted a voluntary comply-or-explain approach, the U.S. has adopted a rules-based approach with mandatory compliance and sanctions for non-compliance. The main aim of this study is to investigate the differences in the approach to corporate governance regulation and enforcement in the UK and the United States. In so doing, the research ventures beyond the law in the books and considers how the law operates and how it is enforced. The study combines doctrinal, socio-legal and comparative law methodologies to achieve the research objectives and uses Becker’s theory on measuring enforcement to analyse the effectiveness of enforcement in the UK and the United States. The study concludes that the approach to corporate governance (the rules-based or principles-based) does not materially impact corporate misconduct. Instead, the study contends that the effectiveness of the UK’s approach to corporate governance enforcement is hindered by a cluttered enforcement framework with multiple civil and criminal regulators. As a result of the centralised approach adopted in the U.S., this study finds that there is a higher likelihood that U.S. directors will face sanctions for corporate misconduct, when compared to their UK counterparts. Given that the effectiveness of regulations is measured in relation to its enforcement, the effectiveness of the UK system of corporate governance enforcement to deter corporate misconduct is questionable. Ultimately, there is little incentive for directors to engage effectively in preventing and detecting corporate misconduct

Elite squash players nutrition knowledge and influencing factors

Background There is a reported mismatch between macronutrient consumption and contemporary macronutrient guidelines in elite standard squash players. Suboptimal dietary practices could be due to a lack of nutrition knowledge among players. Subsequently, the purpose of this study was to assess the sports nutrition knowledge of elite squash players through the Nutrition for Sport Knowledge Questionnaire (NSKQ) and provide an indication of whether players require nutrition support to increase their nutrition knowledge. Methods This cross-sectional study assessed the nutrition knowledge of 77 elite squash players via the NSKQ over the period of June 2020 to August 2020. Results Players conveyed average nutrition knowledge with a mean NSKQ score of 48.78 ± 10.06 (56.07% ± 11.56%). There were no significant differences in NSKQ score between male and female players (p = .532). There was found to be a weak positive association between world ranking and NSKQ score (r = .208) and age and NSKQ score (r = .281). Players who had a relevant undergraduate degree (e.g. BSc Sport & Exercise Science) had significantly greater NSKQ score than players with no relevant qualifications (p = .022). Players who consulted a sports nutritionist to obtain their main source of nutrition information were shown to have significantly greater knowledge than those who acquired knowledge from a sports scientist (p = .01) or the internet / social media (p = .007). Conclusions Players should consult with a sports nutritionist to increase their sport nutrition knowledge. Future research should quantify the effectiveness of a nutritional education intervention at increasing nutrition knowledge in players