The Bold Riders: Behind Australia's Corporate Collapses
Business Biography Investigative Journalism Business Ethics Corporate Finance Financial History Corporate Governance Australian Economic History Forensic Accounting
Trevor Sykes’ 750-page hardback, first released in 1994, is still the benchmark narrative on Australia’s most spectacular corporate failures of the late-’80s and early-’90s. Written by one of the country’s most respected financial journalists, The Bold Riders dissects the rise and sudden crash of high-profile empires such as Bond, Skase and Adsteam in a style that reads like a thriller while delivering the granular balance-sheet analysis investors, accountants and business students still cite today. The book’s enduring popularity means later print runs are scarce; this Allen & Unwin first-edition hardcover with its sturdy sewn binding is therefore the copy serious collectors and university libraries try to source.
What sets the title apart is Sykes’ unique blend of biography, investigative journalism and finance textbook: each chapter profiles the personalities behind the collapses, then walks the reader through the cash-flow tricks, cross-shareholdings and regulatory loopholes that allowed billions to evaporate. Charts, creditor lists and court transcripts are woven into the story, making the volume an indispensable reference for anyone studying corporate governance, forensic accounting or Australian economic history. Business schools regularly place it on postgraduate reading lists, while auditors and insolvency practitioners keep it within arm’s-reach for real-world parallels.
Physical condition is remarkably clean for a 30-year-old textbook: pages are crisp, unmarked and dog-ear-free, the binding remains tight for frequent consultation, and the only wear is light shelving rub to the boards plus minor dust-jacket edge rub and a small previous-owner sticker inside the front cover. At 9.1 × 6.1 inches it sits comfortably on a desk or shelf beside other major finance tomes. For researchers, collectors or professionals who want the most comprehensive single-volume account of Australia’s corporate excess—and prefer a genuine first printing to later reprints—this copy offers both authoritative content and collectible longevity.
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