Development of corporate governance: from early forms to modern practices

Corporate governance is a set of procedures and practices for effective management of public companies. It is often possible to meet the opinion that corporate governance appeared recently, namely in the early 90s, when the famous report of the Cadbury Committee was published. The article attempts to comprehend the roots of this activity, starting from ancient times, when the beginnings of large private companies were just emerging, and ending with the modern realities of managing large companies. In particular, it is shown that some kind of regulation existed in ancient societies, and in Europe these practices began to be applied in the Middle Ages. The way of formation of corporate governance procedures in their current form is traced. In conclusion, the article concludes that the corporate governance system is far from being formed and that attempts should continue to introduce best practices into codes and other regulatory documents.