Private companies

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  Insight

  On the 2021 private company board agenda

  Drawing on insights from our work and interactions with public and private company directors and business leaders, we’ve highlighted nine items for private company boards to consider as they focus their 2021 agendas.

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  Insight

  Questions for the board with a SPAC in sight

  Directors and management of private companies considering a sale to a special purpose acquisition company should be aware of the opportunities as well as the oversight-related challenges and tradeoffs a transaction may present.

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  Insight

  Looking to the future of long-term investing

  Harvard Business School professor Victoria Ivashina discusses the outlook for private equity investing and the impact on governance and oversight.

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  Private company director resources for COVID-19

  Resources and insights for private company owners and corporate directors amid the challenges presented by COVID-19.

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  Insight

  Closing the gaps in portfolio company board effectiveness

  Investors’ ability to assess strategy and operations at their portfolio companies is largely dependent upon the effectiveness of their portfolio company boards.

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  Insight

  Defining ESG metrics that matter for private equity portfolio companies

  While the impact on private company boards, management, operations, and disclosure varies—and largely dependent on ownership—a shift is apparent in how institutional investors are directing capital and increasing expectations for private company reporting on ESG.

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  The portfolio company lead director

  The private equity portfolio company lead director can be key to building board agendas, serving as a mentor to the CEO, and leading oversight of strategy development and execution.

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  Insight

  Directors Quarterly: October 2018

  In this edition, we looked at trends in board leadership, two emerging areas of focus for lead directors, how young and growing companies may benefit from using a matrix for board building, and more.

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  Insight

  Matrix thinking

  For young and growing companies, particularly those backed by venture capital funds, board building is often more informal and less strategic. Yet a long-term approach to building a strong board as the company grows can make a difference.

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  Insight

  Getting ahead of sexual harassment risk

  Discussion about board oversight of sexual harassment issues often comes up only after public allegations have thrown the company into crisis.

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  Insight

  Getting a start-up CFO up to speed

  For a CFO of a new start-up company, this is a time of tremendous opportunity. Roles and responsibilities are being formalized, processes and controls are being implemented, and cultures and capabilities are being transformed.

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  Insight

  Accounting for growth

  As an increasing number of firms are driven by intangible, knowledge-based assets and are more frequently funded through private investors, accounting choices are expected to play a more significant role in a company’s success.

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  Expediting the CEO assessment

  Given the expected five- to seven-year holding period for portfolio companies, boards may be able to avoid having to make a switch in two years by being more proactive in assessing the CEO early in the ownership period.

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  Diversifying portfolio company boards

  Diversifying the composition of private-equity portfolio company boards is a significant challenge, yet opportunties to change are just as abundant for these firms as they are public company boards.

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  Insight

  Building a foundation for growth: Governance in investor-owned private companies

  In collaboration with the KPMG Board Leadership Center, the National Association of Corporate Directors has produced Building a Foundation for Growth: Governance in Investor-Owned Private Companies.

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  Insight

  The challenge of managing investors and time horizons at a private company

  Conflicting views aren't always counterproductive and, in fact, can contribute to an engaging and robust discussion.

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  Insight

  After the jobs act: The impact on private companies

  Three years after the JOBS Act was signed into law, we talk with Kate Mitchell, partner and cofounder at Scale Venture Partners, about the impact on private companies and their governance.developments.

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  Exceptional private boards get the basics right

  Without a regulator or stock exchange to impose oversight guidelines, private companies often “write their own rules” when it comes to governance.

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  Culture as a blindspot: transparency in the private company boardroom

  For all its focus on the business and the marketplace, the board itself can be vulnerable to its own blind spot: boardroom culture.

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  Why good governance attracts investors

  In a start-up climate that is becoming more attuned to company culture, many venture investors we work with say that a working knowledge of corporate governance for early-stage company founders is a critical factor for funding negotiations