The Corzine affair

From my limited-knowledge standpoint, the takeaway from this whole sorry matter is as follows:  if a business is so complicated that the CEO doesn't have a handle on most of its operational details, it's probably too complicated and risky to invest in. This story may be repeated at other investment firms before all's said and done.  To this lay person it seems that all kinds of financial instruments designed to deal with the risk inherent in debt, are at the root of the collapse and loss of millions by investors.  If these instruments (SWAPS and various other derivatives) don't accomplish what they are supposed to, i.e. mitigate risk, then what is their purpose other than to provide trading opportunities for traders to earn commissions for themselves and their firms?  There must be smart people out there who have better answers than this.