????高盛被指控在金融危機前夕誤導(dǎo)投資者，目前尚不清楚高盛董事會是否考察過施瓦茨在這起事件中所扮演的角色。根據(jù)美國參議院常設(shè)調(diào)查委員會（Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigation）收集的文件，2007年3月8日，施瓦茨在電子郵件中寫道：“我們應(yīng)該解決的一個大問題是如何表達(dá)我們對市場的看法，需要和交易部門的策略保持一致。”就后來引發(fā)10億美元客戶賠償案的Timberwolf債務(wù)抵押證券，高盛主管唐納德?馬倫在2007年5月11日給施瓦茨的郵件中寫到：“我認(rèn)為在做銷售前，必須先厘清這個問題。”這里他指的就是高盛向客戶推銷投資的方式。施瓦茨同意與客戶溝通十分必要，但在回信中這樣寫道：“我不認(rèn)為應(yīng)該放慢、或者推遲銷售，……不管怎樣，我們應(yīng)該在競的投標(biāo)前迅速解決這件事情。這也是一種辦法，你說呢？

????銷售出身的施瓦茨是否從金融危機的詳細(xì)審查中吸取了教訓(xùn)？為獲取新職位所需的信任，他是否具備足夠判斷力和警覺性？這些問題都還有待觀察。

????關(guān)于董事會的未來，高盛在最近的CFO新聞稿中這樣說道：“公司可望在近期增加新的獨立董事。”但加上維尼爾之后，現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)有11位董事。一般而言，12位董事已經(jīng)很多了，再增加人手，董事會就會變得笨拙而低效。

????未來我們還應(yīng)關(guān)注誰會退出高盛董事會。三位管理層人士對董事會來說太多了。退出候選人除了他們，還有董事會元老詹姆斯?喬納森、比爾?喬治和克萊斯?達(dá)爾巴克，他們的任職年限分別為13年、10年和9年。按多數(shù)標(biāo)準(zhǔn)衡量，他們已經(jīng)或很快將被認(rèn)為是公司內(nèi)幕人士。首席董事詹姆斯?斯基羅是5家大型上市公司的董事會成員。（用一句行話來說，就是“超載”了。）史蒂芬?弗里德曼今年12月就年滿75歲了。根據(jù)《紐約郵報》（New York Post）的報道，最近被提名為高盛審計委員會主席的米歇爾?伯恩斯在2005-2006年曾擔(dān)任過沃爾瑪（Wal-Mart）的審計委員，“期間這家零售巨頭正在秘密應(yīng)對公司高管賄賂官員的指控。”比恩斯已不再擔(dān)任沃爾瑪審計委員，而沃爾瑪發(fā)言人稱，審計委員會從2011年11月已經(jīng)開始調(diào)查這一案件，目前仍未結(jié)案。

????現(xiàn)在看來，高盛將持續(xù)實施小規(guī)模的改變，以應(yīng)付分析師、投資者和公眾。但隨著公司治理問題淡出人們的視野，這個問題會到底會得到最終的解決？還是每況愈下？

????愛麗諾?布洛斯罕是董事會咨詢公司價值聯(lián)盟與公司治理聯(lián)盟（The Value Alliance and Corporate Governance Alliance，http://thevaluealliance.com）的CEO。

????It's unclear whether Goldman's board considered Schwartz's role at the bank related to accusations that it misled its investors in the run up to the financial crisis. According to documents collected by the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigation, on March 8, 2007, Schwartz wrote in an email, "one of our biggest issues is how we communicate our views of the market --- consistently with what the desk wants to execute." Related to the Timberwolf CDO -- which was the subject of a $1 billion client lawsuit -- Goldman executive Donald Mullen wrote in an email on May 11, 2007 to Schwartz, "I think we need to sort these things out before we make sales," referring to the way the bank was presenting the investments to clients. Schwartz agreed communications with clients mattered but replied, "Don't think we should slow or delay… However we need to huddle quickly before hitting bids I think. Is that not an option?"

????It remains to be seen whether Schwartz, who has a sales background, has learned lessons from the financial crisis scrutiny -- and whether he has the judgment and caution required to gain the trust required in his new role.

????Related to the future of the board, "the firm expects to appoint additional independent directors to its board in the near term," Goldman's recent CFO-related press release stated. But with the addition of Viniar, the board will already be at 11 members. The rule of thumb is that 12 is plenty; more would make the board unwieldy and less effective.

????Going forward, it will be important to watch who may also be leaving the Goldman board. Three management insiders are too many. Beyond exits for them, James Johnson, Bill George, and Claes Dahlb?ck are all long-tenured members with over 13, nearly 10, and over 9 years on the board, respectively. By most standards, they are -- or will be -- considered insiders soon. James Schiro, the lead director, sits on five major pubic company boards. (To use the common lingo, he's over-boarded.) Stephen Friedman turns 75 in December. And according to the New York Post, Michele Burns, who was recently named head of Goldman's audit committee, served on Wal-Mart's audit committee "in 2005 and 2006, when the retail giant was secretly grappling with charges that its executives bribed officials." She no longer sits on the Wal-Mart audit committee, and a spokesperson for Wal-Mart says that the current investigation by the board's audit committee, which began in November 2011, is ongoing.

????It seems that, for now, Goldman will be feeding analysts, investors, and the public small doses of change. But with governance issues out of the spotlight, will it get better or worse at the bank?

????Eleanor Bloxham is CEO of The Value Alliance and Corporate Governance Alliance (http://thevaluealliance.com), a board advisory firm.