The Advisory Council of the Family Business

The publication WIFU_compact_16: The Advisory Council of the Family Business (2023), published by the WIFU Foundation, provides a concise and practical overview of the role, responsibilities and structure of advisory boards in family businesses. The starting point is the increasing complexity of business decisions, which significantly heightens the need for professional, independent sparring partners on an equal footing.

The publication illustrates the strategic, mediating, and controlling roles an advisory board can assume. It describes key areas of application, such as ensuring operational capacity during shareholder disputes, supporting succession processes, assisting management, and acting as a bridge between the owner family and external management. Furthermore, typical core competencies of an advisory board are explained, including information rights, veto rights, and personnel powers.

Furthermore, the edition illuminates practical questions regarding the composition, size, and working methods of the advisory board, as well as selection criteria for suitable advisory board members. Aspects of remuneration, meeting structure, and information preparation are also systematically presented. The publication is based in content on the practical guide "The Advisory Board in Family Businesses" by Rainer Kirchdörfer (2018) and transfers its central findings into a compact, easily accessible format for entrepreneurial families.