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This paper reviews recent studies that analyse and criticise existing academic and commercial corporate governance (CG) indices. Most of these ‘rating the ratings’ papers reach the conclusion that encompassing composite measures of CG are ineffective and suggest therefore to return to simpler measures. This paper draws on the'configurational'-or'bundles approach'to CG and argues that, while the criticisms made by the'rating the ratings' papers are justified, their recommendations are misguided. Based on four central insights derived from the'bundles approach', the paper shows that reverting to simpler measures of firm-level CG practices is a step in the wrong direction, in that it eliminates information about interactions between different corporate governance mechanisms. This is particularly consequential for comparative CG research that aims to identify differences in country-specific CG systems. Alternative solutions are developed to improve corporate governance measures, which take into account insights from the'bundles approach'.