Pigs at the Trough

The past decade has seen a period of unparalleled growth in executive remuneration. But while CEO pay exploded, shareholders looked on helplessly as some of Australia's best-known companies self-destructed. When the fall eventually came, executives were well protected. Shareholders and creditors were not so lucky. From Telstra's enriching of Sol Trujillo to the toppling of Eddy Groves's ABC Learning Centres and the untold accounts of the billions lost by the collapsed Babcock & Brown, Allco Finance Group and MFS, Pigs at the Trough tells the story of how a generation of executives, under the supervision of well-known and respected non-executive directors, pushed all the boundaries and sometimes sailed right over them ... and got away with it. A pacey, irreverent read but with a devastatingly serious message, Pigs at the Trough gives investors invaluable insights into how to spot the telltale signs of impending corporate collapse, and how to avoid being another victim. "When a major corporate crash happens, investors need to learn the lessons. Adam Schwab emerges as a modern-day Trevor Sykes in his lively exposé on how the likes of Eddy Groves, David Coe and Phil Green blew more than $10 billion across their empires. Not to be missed." --Stephen Mayne, founder, Crikey "Schwab captures the essence of the financial engineering boom years in a pacey read. Allco, Babcock, ABC; he cuts through the nonsense and gets to the heart of how billions in savings were blown sky high while cunning bankers walked away with millions. The carnage will smoke for years." --Michael West, The Sydney Morning Herald "The global financial crisis, like its predecessors all the way back to the Tulip Mania, requires the vast majority to delude themselves that wealth can be created by shuffling pieces of paper. It's fun while it lasts, but when the delusion ends, only those doing the shuffling have the wealth. Pigs at the Trough breaks the delusion with a compelling narrative on how Australia's celebrity managers bled their companies dry." --Steve Keen, Associate Professor at the University of Western Sydney and author of Debunking Economics "Listed companies are vital to effective capitalism, including the superannuation savings of millions of Australians. Equally vital is the need for oversight -- governance -- to ensure the interests of the company and its owners are placed first and foremost. Adam Schwab lays bare the details of how governance can fail the needs of investors and provides a rallying call for careful scrutiny at all stages of the market cycle." --Erik Mather, Managing Director, Regnan Governance Research