CDL saga exposes governance gaps in family firms

Our financial advisory partner, Ellyn Tan, engaged in an in-depth interview with Singapore Business Review (SBR) unpacking and analysing the intricacies of governance and succession planning in family-run businesses, where challenges are bound to surface and how such businesses should approach conflict resolution.

Ellyn shared that disputes in family-run businesses will arise when interests between parties are conflicted due to the nature of relationships where the three spheres of the private, public and personal interweaved and are sometimes blurred. 

"This is when governance is put to the test—when your guiding principles and your systems are under stress,” she noted.

She further highlighted the hidden influence of unconscious bias in family transitions, particularly when succession planning remains internalised or informal.

"It is useful to have third-party professionals to provide some objectivity in a process that is often clouded… by biases and unconscious preferences," she added.

Read more on Ellyn's insights here and the effective keys to succession planning in family-run businesses on Singapore Business Review.