Recent reforms in information disclosure and shareholders' rights in Russia

Abstract

This paper surveys the literature on ownership structure and corporate governance in Russia.The market structure is compared to traditional German and Anglo-Saxon market models.We argue that the Russian market constitutes a dynamic hybrid of the two models, i.e. its direction of development has yet to be resolved.As several current cases indicate, the risk of unfair treatment of minority shareholders in Russian companies is considerable.While we acknowledge that both the legal framework and the incentives of the management are equally important in protecting minority shareholder rights, the scope of the paper is deliberately limited to discussion of the legal framework.The information disclosure requirements of Russian companies are compared with the US requirements.Also the regulatory bodies in the two countries are discussed.Some differences between International Accounting Standards and Russian accounting practice are also reviewed.The final part of the paper is dedicated to the recent reforms proposed by the Russian government regarding disclosure and protection of minority shareholder rights. Keywords: ownership structure, shareholders, information disclosure, FCSM, Russia