From the editor.

To paraphrase Bob Dylan, you don't need a weatherman to know that there is a gale blowing across the corporate governance landscape. Enron Corp.'s troubles and their messy aftermath, which have dominated the business news since last fall, have triggered what seem to be endless questions about ethics, control, auditor independence and other vital areas of corporate governance.

Our cover story examines the new tenor of the times, and looks particularly closely at the issues surrounding auditors and the audit committee. New rules have been proposed by Congress and regulators; meanwhile, audit committees are meeting more often and for longer periods than ever, based on first-hand experience related by Frank Borelli, a former FEI national chairman and retired CFO who chairs two audit committees. Prominent shareholder activist Robert Monks also offers a seasoned perspective about the evolving state of governance.

In a corporate strategy article, writer Paul Sweeney explores the slide of Tyco International, the huge conglomerate that has had a rough year, with its stock price falling amid accounting questions and a disconcerting series of moves surrounding a decision to split into four parts -- later reversed -- and an inability to sell key divisions. The troubles have reinforced doubts about a corporate model built on serial acquisitions.

In an interview with Managing Editor Ellen Heffes, the CFO of Vivendi Universal, Guillaume Hannezo, talks about the French company's emergence into a media powerhouse. He defends its performance and details the company's interest in the U.S. and in American shareholders. He also discusses Vivendi's complex reporting system, and its recent decision to report certain units in both U.S. GAAP and French GAAP.

Getting and keeping banking relationships is harder than ever...