Module Assessment 2021-22
Type: Individual written coursework
% of marks: 100%
Word limit: 2000 words
Title: To what extent was corporate governance responsible for
bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers?
Description: The financial crisis in 2007-2009 is one
of the most important business events of all time. The bankruptcy of Lehman
Brothers in 2008 was at the heart of it and caused significant disruption to global financial markets and the global economy. Understanding why Lehman failed is critical to understanding the crisis and in predicting future crises. It has
been argued by some observers that the Lehman bankruptcy was the result of weak corporate governance, but this point of view is by no means universally
accepted. This assessment requires you to consider to what extent Lehman’s
failure was the result of weak corporate governance. The assessment requires
you to apply the knowledge and analytical skills learned on the module to a real-life case of significant importance. You should consider the wide variety of corporate governance mechanisms covered in the module and the role they played at Lehman.
There are lots of information sources. One excellent source is the bankruptcy examiners report available here: https://web.stanford.edu/~jbulow/Lehmandocs/menu.html. The book ‘Too Big to Fail’ by Andrew Ross Sorkin is also good.