*{Global regulation needs to catch up with business (08-05-2002) [http://www.iccwbo.org/home/denver/denver_rep/business.asp]}

The momentum of business in the global economy is outstripping the regulatory foundations that governments have created, speakers said at a session entitled: "The shape of business - a topsy-turvy picture for industry". 

Jeffrey Garten, Dean of the Yale School of Management, said there had never been such strong support for market-oriented policies, adding: "The irony is that those policies don't work unless there is a public policy     framework on which they can rest." 

As a first step, Mr Garten called for a uniform international accounting system, so that investors can compare the balance sheets of a Toyota Motor Corporation with a Ford Motor Company. He also suggested a global equivalent of the US Food and Drug Administration, due to "all the concerns about health, all the dangers about food safety and terrorism, and all the changes occurring in the biotech area." 

Deszö Horváth, Dean of the Schulich School of Business at York University, Canada, cited a combination of technology, globalization, privatization and socio-econonomic forces as drivers that were changing the shape of    business. He said the corporate landscape had changed more during the last decade that at any time in history.
 
Rono Dutta, President of United Airlines, USA, said global deregulation had increased competition. Previously, firms were "sheltered under monopolies," he said. Other speakers stressed that an expanding global market that lent itself to increasing consumer choice was one of globalization's main challenges. This abundance of choice could provoke rapid changes in consumer preference and significantly increase competition.

Vratislav Kulhanek, Chairman of Skoda Auto, Czech Republic, said that companies today had to be "based on change, not stability." In the global market, mergers had to be expected that allowed for a maximum increase in    competitiveness and market share.

Peter Coors, Chairman of Coors Brewing Company, USA, said global regulations helped multinationals, but might stifle innovation in smaller firms. "All of us global companies depend upon smaller companies for our business," he said. " I suggest differential regulatory structures for different sizes of companies."

Alexander Schaub, Director General for Competition of the European Commission, said global business needed a foundation of predictability. Globalization was still in its infancy, and there was therefore a need to create an underlying regulatory structure. "If it is not done, topsy-turvy will continue to be a theme," he said.

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