Dan Bavly takes a fresh look at how business is supervised and how that system can be improved. He begins by assessing the performance of the government regulator and suggests reasons for the failure to prevent many of the debacles of the recent past. New fiascoes often engender a spate of legislation, but the regulator remains the one who gets away--he is simply not accountable and does not shoulder the blame. Clearly, a new definition of regulator responsibility is required.

Drawing on his years of company board and auditing experience, Bavly analyzes why the average director cannot...