According to Family Firm Institute (www.ffi.org) family-owned businesses are the dominant form of business organization worldwide and play a leading role in the social and economic wealth creation wherever they are located. That's why we at Ater Wynne have launched this new blog designed to help this crucial segment of the economy succeed.
So what is a “family-owned” business? There are several definitions out there but my working definition is a business in which one or more related family members substantially influence the business decisions. My definition is similar to the definition found in Consulting to Family Businesses. There the authors, Jane Hilburt-Davis and Gibb Dyer, define a family business as 'an organization where ownership and/or management decisions are influenced by a family (or families)'.
These broad definitions allow for the inclusion of businesses that might otherwise be excluded from the attention of advisers and policy makers when advising and applying best practices.
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