Governance & Compliance

Governance sets out how family, ownership and company work together. It creates clarity about who takes decisions, who carries responsibility and how control is organised. Within the family, the guard rails for ownership and leadership take shape, along with the owner strategy for the company. Corporate governance translates those principles into the management and steering of the business and typically covers compliance, risk management and control mechanisms.

A compliance management system (CMS) covers all the organisational measures, processes and principles of conduct with which a company ensures that laws, regulatory requirements and internal rules are observed. The aim is to identify risks early, avoid breaches and protect the company effectively. Anchored pragmatically in existing business processes, a CMS can be integrated into day-to-day work efficiently and with real effect. Established standards such as DIN ISO 37301 or IDW PS 980 support a risk-oriented approach.

Which compliance areas matter for a company follows from its business model, industry and market environment. We therefore identify and assess these areas on a risk-oriented basis and from the company's actual situation, so that attention goes to the topics that genuinely matter. Beyond that, some compliance areas affect almost every company, for example tax compliance for meeting fiscal obligations, or corporate compliance for company law responsibilities and the duties of governing bodies.

Acting with integrity and responsibility does not happen by itself. The convictions of management and shareholders have to become visible inside the company, so that employees make the right decisions even in difficult situations and unfair business practices find no room. The tone from the top shapes the compliance culture decisively. Clear and transparent communication creates the basis for an effective CMS. What matters is not laws and regulations, but concrete guidance, typical risk situations and the behaviour patterns that can lead to compliance breaches and damage.

Good corporate management creates the ability to act. That includes transparent reporting, clear decision thresholds and effective risk and compliance management, complemented by an advisory board where useful. In more complex companies these steering instruments develop into a leadership model suited to the mid market, with rules of procedure and clearly defined authorities. Risk and compliance management reach a high level of maturity. An advisory board with members from outside the ownership circle adds further perspectives. Succession and remuneration are handled just as professionally.

At the centre stands the ability of the ownership circle to take decisions together and to remain able to act over the long term. With only a few shareholders, clear guidelines on strategy, distribution and reinvestment often suffice, along with initial arrangements for emergencies and succession. As the shareholder circle grows, binding rules of the game become necessary. A family constitution provides orientation on values, ownership, succession and the role of the family in the company. Clear rules for handling conflict safeguard the ability to act. At the same time, owners develop the competences they need for their responsibility towards the company and the family assets.