Control Needs in Italian Privately Held Family Firms

In the accounting branch of business studies, growing attention has been devoted to the issues of corporate governance. Yet, the meaning of corporate governance itself should be interpreted differently in the specific context of “family” firms, whereas – for instance – the independent controls performed by independent bodies (for instance: the Audit Committee and the independent directors), developed under a model of separation between property and management, may reduce their appeal – since typically the main shareholders already manage and control the operations of the firms. In a broader perspective, though, as previous research as shown, this paper confirms that the need of professional controls / supervision over family firms is all the more relevant given the specific agency problems that family firms face and the importance of other stakeholders different from the owners.