Corporate Governance Lessons from Organized Crime

Abstract

On December 5, 2024, during the International Closing Conference of the 20th Regional Symposium on Accounting Research—organized by the Institute for Accounting Research and Studies (IIEC) of the Faculty of Economic Sciences at the National University of La Plata (UNLP)—Professor Jerold L. Zimmerman, Bittner Emeritus Professor at the University of Rochester Simon Business School (USA),  presented the lecture titled “Corporate Governance Lessons from Organized Crime” (Investigación FCE UNLP, 2024), drawing on the concepts developed in his book Relentless - The Forensics of Mobsters’ Business Practices. The event was followed by an exchange with the audience, moderated by Dr. Mariano Scapin, Senior Lecturer in Accounting, University of Bristol (UK).
This publication is structured in two parts: the first presents the transcription of Professor Zimmerman’s lecture; the second reproduces the transcript of the subsequent discussion with the audience, moderated by Dr. Scapin. Both sections have been reviewed and validated by their respective authors.
The purpose of this publication is to disseminate, in academic format, the original conversation held during the public lecture, with the aim of making it accessible to a broader readership and contributing to the ongoing debate on the issues addressed. By offering a stable document, it ensures preservation, citability, and traceability as a primary source.