Opponents of post-meltdown reforms to corporate governance are trying to hold back change by focusing on Washington. The US Chamber of Commerce is spending $100m (€69m, £63m) to try to defeat any substantive reforms. They are missing the point. No matter what happens in Washington, the market is forcing through significant and pervasive reforms. The companies that first understand that will benefit from a lower cost of capital and more committed long-term investors. As we understand better the mistakes of the past and the challenges ahead, fund managers and analysts will look at “new fundamentals”, four elements that will become as important as cash flow and return on investment.

First, accounting. The pressure is increasing to harmonise global accounting standards. As markets are unshackled from the borders of geography, cross-border apples-to-apples comparisons become more significant. Even more important, however, is the pressure to rethink the value of our traditional approach to accounting. There is a reason accounting principles are called “generally accepted” rather than “generally accurate”. The accounting system is too grounded in a 19th-century notion of value based on hard assets. What useful information did we get from this about the value of subprime derivatives?