This book details the difference between the two rating industries, but this difference is converging all the time. The concept of investing in a more responsible and sustainable manner is drawing in some of the world’s leading investors and, with it, regulations and policies are developing at the highest levels. However, the market is not getting what it needs to fully submit to the concept of responsible investing. It has called for more to be done from those tasked with injecting information into their processes, and two industries in particular have been identified as being natural partners. It has been suggested that they are on a collision course to serve the mainstream investor, and in this book, that collision course is contextualised, explained, presented, and finally its outcome predicted.
This book details the difference between the two rating industries, but this difference is converging all the time. The concept of investing in a more responsible and sustainable manner is drawing in some of the world's leading investors and, with it, regulations and policies are developing at the highest levels. However, the market is not getting what it needs to fully submit to the concept of responsible investing. It has called for more to be done from those tasked with injecting information into their processes, and two industries in particular have been identified as being natural partners. It has been suggested that they are on a collision course to serve the mainstream investor, and in this book, that collision course is contextualised, explained, presented, and finally its outcome predicted. Daniel Cash is Lecturer at Aston University. He has published exclusively on the credit rating sector and has authored a number of books, edited collections, and articles on the subject.
ESG Rating Agencies and Financial Regulation presents an essential and nuanced understanding of rating agencies through the utilisation of signalling theory. Daniel Cash provides fresh insight on the role of ESG rating agencies in the financial market and explores the relationship between ESG and modern business practices to explain the continued drive for effective ESG rating agencies.
The aim of this volume is to foster more sustainable business models through financial markets. To that end, it is necessary to know the main global challenges facing financial markets and their impact on creating sustainable value in business models of enterprises in the context of sustainable adaptation. The book focuses on assessing the decision criteria adopted by financial markets in the process of transaction risk valuation, in terms of the presence of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria, and by assessing the impact of including these criteria in the risk assessment process by financial markets in business decisions, leading as a consequence to building new value in the form of a sustainable business model. The book presents global ESG risks facing the financial markets, and discusses how ESG risks are managed and monitored, and how financial markets can measure and operationalize extra-financial risks in its assessment process. The book also analyses ESG risk implications and influences on company behavior, and the actions that companies should take considering the ESG assessment requirements of financial markets. Finally, it provides a comprehensive, structured, and systematic view of how financial markets and companies should adapt and improve their business models. The book provides unique challenges for investors, companies, financial markets, and for our society as a whole, advancing traditional risk management approaches to address global risks.
Current and future issues in the global accounting/consulting, business opportunity, and credit rating agency (CRA) industries can have significant multiplier-effects on international trade, sustainable growth, and compliance (as physical phenomena). These three industries are among the most international and human-capital-intensive of all service industries. In these industries, analysis of business models and industry dynamics can provide insights about how human-computer interaction (HCI) and contract theory affect the evolution of financial market ecosystems and cross-border information flows, and how business models, work-allocation mechanisms, and liability allocation can evolve to manage change. An often-overlooked issue is that non-performing loans (NPLs), sustainability, and CRA efficiency can be significantly affected by business processes, corporate strategy, and HCI in industry ecosystems, multinational corporations (MNCs), and economic systems. Complex Systems and Sustainability in the Global Auditing, Consulting, and Credit Rating Agency Industries compares these three industries and introduces theories of public policy and “inter-business” processes. The book links industry structure, complex systems (including networks), behavioral game theory, structural changes, and antitrust problems to sustainability and the efficiency of pollution-remediation systems. The book introduces new “informal algorithms” and business/resource-allocation models that solve social-choice problems, and also contravene “impossibility theorems” that are at the core of modern computer science and mechanism design. This book is essential for professors and masters/PhD-level students and employees (in industry, financial services, research institutes, consulting firms, and government agencies) who are interested in industrial mathematics and theoretical computer science.
The Global Outlook on Financing for Sustainable Development 2021 calls for collective action to address both the short-term collapse in resources of developing countries as well as long-term strategies to build back better following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis, there have been many criticisms weighed against private credit rating agencies. Many claim they only exacerbate financial market volatility by issuing faulty public statements, ratings warnings, and downgrades. This instability increases the uncertainty in business environments and weakens the pace of business investment. Their rating changes also prompt national governments to reduce their spending at a time when fiscal expenditures are crucial for economic recovery. Public Credit Rating Agencies argues for the creation of national public credit rating agencies, offering the first in-depth discussion of their implied role and function operating alongside private agencies. Schroeder provides an up-to-date overview of the ratings industry and the government bodies that monitor its activities. She suggests that the proper implementation of public credit rating agencies will promote the stability of lending, further development and adaptation of new technology, and increase labor productivity and the profitability of new investment in businesses. Finally, this book clarifies the inconsistencies that have surfaced between public budgeting and a rating agency's evaluation of national budgets.
What's a good company? Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investing is transforming the world of business and finance. Investors are using data on issues like climate and diversity to enhance returns and make an impact. But with scepticism creeping in, how far can we trust the numbers? Is all this data making a difference to people and planet, and have we actually lost sight of what we are measuring and why? Measuring Good Business explains what we can measure – and calls for honesty about what we can't. This is the first book to look at the numbers behind the ESG revolution. It sets out a bold blueprint to revolutionise the data based on bottom-up, inclusive metrics, customised data to meet investor needs and impact measures that put sustainability in context. It is essential reading for anyone creating, using or studying ESG and sustainability data. After unpacking what’s going on today, the book focuses on solutions, providing a how-to guide to improve measurement and make sustainable business more impactful. It shows why measurement matters in a highly accessible way through stories and insights based on practical experience. The book is relevant to a broad readership of data creators (e.g. those working in companies), users (e.g. capital market participants) as well as the large ecosystem of raters, rankers and standard setters across the private, public and non-profit worlds.
This book addresses key issues related to the choice between governments regulating and enforcing society’s sustainability and social responsibility objectives, and firms reporting on their sustainable and socially responsible activities so stakeholders can exert pressure on firms to achieve society’s goals. While these may be considered as the two endpoints of a continuum, it is clear that there are differing perspectives on the role of governments in sustainability and responsibility. At one end of this continuum are stakeholders who believe the only way to achieve a sustainable and socially conscious society is to establish and enforce regulations with the concomitant governmental organizations to oversee and enforce those regulations. At the other end are those who consider firms to be crucial organizations for achieving sustainability and socially responsible outcomes, and who feel it is the responsibility of stakeholders to determine the legitimacy of firms’ actions. It is probably not the case that any economies exist at either end of this continuum, but it is clear that the availability of reliable information is critical for any stakeholder to review the performance of either the governments or the firms. This book presents a varied set of papers that explore the issues that must be considered, regardless of which position a stakeholder takes.
This Palgrave Pivot aims to examine the bourgeoning relationship between the Principles for Responsible Investment and the Credit Rating Industry. Since May of 2016, when the partnership was initially publicised, the PRI have endeavoured to incorporate Credit Rating Agencies into its initiative via its ‘ESG in Credit Ratings Initiative’, and have been working diligently to find, and create common ground between Credit Rating Agencies and Institutional Investors seeking to be more forward-looking in their investment approaches. However, in recent years the ‘Big Two’ Credit Rating Agencies – Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s – have finally received record fines for their conduct in the run-up to the Financial Crisis. There is a need, then, to examine the incorporation of the Credit Rating Agencies into such a progressive initiative. To achieve this objective, this book examines the field of ‘responsible investing’, the credit rating industry, and the power dynamic that exists between the rating industry, investors, and the PRI (via its ‘Initiative’).
