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Abstract
In the late 1980s there was a series of sensational business scandals in the UK. There was particular public outrage at the plundering of pension funds by Robert Maxwell, at the failure of auditors to expose the impending bankruptcy of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International, and at the apparently undeserved high pay raises received by senior business executives. The City of London responded by creating a special committee to examine the financial aspects of a corporate government. The resulting Code of Best Practice produced by the Cadbury Committee is described. To reduce the power of executive directors in the boardroom the Code recommends a greater role for non-executive directors, changes in board operations, and a more active role for auditors. The various published reactions to the Cadbury Report are reviewed, and it is concluded that the Code is unlikely to halt the incidence of business scandals in the UK.