Coulson-Thomas, Colin (2007) The contribution of directors and boards to the growth and development of SMEs. Report. ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants), London, UK.

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Abstract

Entrepreneurs typically have little interest in having boards of directors in their companies, and believe Non-Executive Directors (NEDs) would simply put constraints on them running their businesses, a qualitative study of 60 Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs), published by ACCA, (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) has shown.

The research, carried out by Prof. Colin Coulson-Thomas, author of ‘Developing Directors, a handbook for building an effective boardroom team’ found few SMEs even had working boards, and the handful of NEDs were usually relatives. Business owners liked to take the key decisions themselves and feared losing control and being constrained by ‘outsiders’. Even those who acknowledged that additional directors could fill existing skill gaps did not believe they would be able to afford them.

The study found that operational issues typically took priority over strategy with ‘getting through the next couple of years’ the key driver. Hardly any of the businesses studied had working boards which met regularly or addressed longer-term strategic issues. Boards and NEDs were seen as a ‘large company’ issue dealing with compliance rather than adding value to SMEs.

Colin Coulson-Thomas said: “Directors in many cases only tended to act as directors when required to do so, at AGM time, or when approving the audited accounts. But in the absence of independently-minded NEDs, whose duty is to the company rather than particular individuals, many found it difficult to step up from discussion of short-term operational issues to provide strategic direction.

“What was most striking – and sad – about my findings were that virtually no-one among the entrepreneurs were able to sum up succinctly what was special about their business or what their vision was. Some of them had real potential, which independent advice in the shape of new directors could help them realise, but they could not see it. Many found it hard to believe that anyone outside the company could be genuinely interested in helping the business succeed and grow, rather than just trying to get something out of it.”

He added: “Entrepreneurs have a negative view of issues such as governance, directors and strategy and see it as irrelevant to them. It is crucial if we are to help these businesses to thrive that a way is found to redefine the positive role that boards can play, in a way that is meaningful to them. Otherwise the growth of potentially successful companies will be limited by the aspirations and capabilities of the founders, who view the business as ‘theirs’”.

ACCA believes the research proves the need to redefine governance issues in such a way as to make them more meaningful to entrepreneurs. This is a practical, rather than theoretical issue, as each company surveyed was found to be held back by specific deficiencies or obstacles which a properly-constituted board could have addressed.

Item Type:	Monograph (Report)
Additional Information:	[1] This working paper is an expansion of preliminary findings presented by Professor Coulson-Thomas to the 9th International Conference on Corporate Governanceand Board Leadership, Henley, 3–5 October, 2006. This paper was commissioned by the ACCA Corporate Governance and Risk Management Committee, which considers it to be a worthwhile contribution to discussion.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	corporate boards, directors, entrepreneurs, SMEs, NEDs, governance, corporate directors, boards of directors, directors, boards, director development, board development, governance, corporate governance, leadership, direction, corporate direction, directorial qualities, Coaching, board consultancy, training, development, learning boards, directors networks, competences, board competences.
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HF Commerce
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Business > Department of Human Resources & Organisational Behaviour
Related URLs:	Publisher Organisation Author
Last Modified:	14 Oct 2016 09:14
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/5354

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