????董事會通常把候選人的審查工作交予外部高管招聘公司，現在他們需要做出“更多努力，”霍奇森指出：“如果雇用了不合適的CEO，董事會灰頭土臉，公司也會名譽掃地。更別提雇用和解雇CEO都需要一大筆錢，這些最終都要股東來買單。”

????然而，麥考密克警告說，這類調查中對高管和董事的背景審查可能遠至高中階段，如果到這個地步，那就矯枉過正了。

????“政壇上的背景審查打擊了許多人從政的意愿，”他補充道。“如果在這方面走得太遠，高管們的苦日子才剛剛開始。”

????Boards of directors, which routinely delegate vetting to outside executive recruiters, may need "to beef up their efforts," notes Hodgson. "The boards look foolish, and the company suffers reputational damage when they hire an unsuitable CEO. Plus it's expensive to hire and fire the CEO; it costs the shareholders."

????McCormick warns, though, that such investigations "raise the specter of looking into backgrounds, as far as back as high school, of executives and board members that could lead to overreaching.

????"In politics, there is so much scrutiny that it chills the willingness of many to take part," he adds. "If it goes too far, it will be open season on executives."