Final answer:
Corporate governance is the accountability mechanism where the leadership and management of a business, including the board of directors and auditing firms, ensure proper operation and financial control, accountable to shareholders.
Step-by-step explanation:
The leadership and management of a business are indeed directly accountable to its owners, namely the shareholders, for the proper operation and financial control of the organization. This accountability and oversight mechanism is known as corporate governance. It involves various institutions such as the board of directors, elected by the shareholders, auditing firms hired to review financial records, and outside investors, especially those with substantial investments like mutual funds or pension funds. These entities are meant to oversee and ensure that executives act in the best interest of the shareholders. In some instances, as with Lehman Brothers, failures in corporate governance can lead to misinformation about a firm's operations, highlighting the importance of robust corporate governance practices.