Abstract
The concept of corporate governance appeared on the background of financial combinations atypical for market economy, in which well-known companies have been involved, some of them resulting in financial scandals which have been spread around the world. It is the case of companies with notoriety as ENRON, PARMALAT, BARING, ANDERSEN and others, which the public has known initially in terms of economic development and subsequently as examples of disastrous failures due to the ignorance of management risks, managers’ greed, the lack of professionalism of external auditors etc. I have made a brief presentation of the concept of corporate governance seen from several points of view, the need for governance, its evolution in international organizations and the types of models encountered in practice.