The administrative and supervisory board model according to stock corporation law and its relationship to the external annual auditor:A legal historical analysis of the Code of Commerce of the Accounting Law Modernization Act,Das aktienrechtliche Verwaltungs- und Aufsichtsratsmodell und die Beziehung zum externen Abschlussprüfer:eine rechtshistorische Analyse vom Code de Commerce zum Bilanzrechtsmodernisierungsgesetz
The present two tier system in the German corporation has been developed by the one tier system. The supervisory board was not only a monitoring instrument, but also responsible for the management. The shareholders demanded an external audit because the internal audit by the supervisory board was not objective. Insofar, the external auditors fulfil a "gatekeeper" function for the shareholders and an "assistant" function for the supervisory board. The convergence and competition of the one- and two tier system has mainly influenced the reform process from the "code de commerce" to the "accounting law modernization act".