What state and federal laws primarily contribute to corporate governance?

Regulation of corporate governance practices is a mixture of state and federal law and organizational requirements. Below is a list of the primary state and federal laws and stock exchange rules contributing to corporate governance: 

• State-specific corporate laws (particularly Delaware law and Model Business Corporation Act states), 
• the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (34 Act) and SEC Rules, 
• the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) 
• the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) 
• the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (Dodd-Frank), 
• the listing standards of the NYSE and NASDAQ, and
• the advisor rules from Proxy Advisory Firms. 

Each of the above sources of regulation are discussed in detail below.

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