摘要：Increasing expectations are being placed on privately-held businesses regarding
governance and ethical compliance processes. Some of those expectations are created internally
as owners and founders attempt to follow “best practices” identified by scholars and consultants.
Despite their intended focus on public company practices, other expectations have emerged in
response to the regulatory requirements of Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) and Federal Sentencing
Guidelines for Organizations (FSGO). We studied 167 family businesses in two states to
determine how extensive “best” governance practices were actually being utilized, particularly
those related to boards of directors and ethical compliance processes.
We confirm a pattern where larger family businesses are more actively using boards with
independent directors, have formal written codes, and utilize more formalized ethical compliance
processes. Codes in themselves are a good start but are not sufficient. Given the critical
importance of having effective compliance processes in place, our results also reveal widely
varying practices that may expose family businesses to unnecessary liability. Compliance
processes need attention and recommendations are offered to improve their use.
关键词：Key words: family business, governance, ethics, boards, regulatory, Sarbanes-Oxley
