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So, you need to hire someone to work at your home—a housekeeper, a chef, or a personal assistant. You have decided not to contract these services to a local company, and your family office does not hire staff for you. It is up to you to fill this position. Before letting a stranger into your home, it is important to understand the domestic em...

Flash drives and laptops may pose a threat to company security as employees take confidential information outside the office, according to a survey from Tower Software. The U.K.-based company found that 55 percent of surveyed employees store work-related e-mails, files and documents in locations other than a secure, shared computer network.

Staff recruitment, hiring and retention are challenging and diffi cult processes for any employer. When this task is assumed by a family, many of the standard issues raised are magnifi ed because of the family's limited experience in this job capacity. When you take on the role of employer, risk management changes in many ways. Despite the conc...

Two notices from Withers Worldwide discuss changes to U.S. tax rules in the deferred remuneration area that take effect on 1 January 2009. These rules (found in Sections 409A and 457A of the U.S. tax code) target deferred payments that do not satisfy complex technical requirements, imposing a compliance burden on non-U.S. as well as U.S. employers....

A limited liability company may seem like the best way to structure private aircraft ownership, organizing finances while shielding other assets from liability, but think again, says Gary Horowitz of Wiley Rein. Using an LLC can lead to a huge tax liability, potential fines by the Federal Aviation Administration and increased personal liability. Th...

At a time when some businesses are struggling simply to stay afloat, warnings over the dangers of inappropriate usage of business e-mail might seem misplaced. However, this remains a risk that can often be poorly managed and that could cause disproportionate damage to an already fragile corporate.

In order to increase the bottom line of a family office, one of the key econometrics is understanding the relationship between the fee charged and the costs associated with each client. Understanding the fees charged to a client is usually well known based on invoices sent to the client. However, without a corresponding knowledge of the costs per c...

Although the recent focus has been on public companies and the new requirement to obtain an independent opinion on internal control over financial reporting, this requirement has also brought to the forefront the importance of internal controls at nonpublic entities. Although not less important, internal controls for small companies and family off...

Wealth management firms and banks must transform their client reporting systems to satisfy investment and web-savvy clients. That's according to a report on next-generation wealth management from Actuate Corp. and IBM Corp. The report examines the growth of the market and outlines some of the challenges confronting wealth managers.

China has become a prime source of malicious computer activity, according to Finjan, a California-based provider of Web security solutions. In its December monthly report, Finjan shows the network of connections between Chinese-based servers and how hackers use it to launch spyware attacks from legitimate, even government, Web sites in Western coun...

Online criminals are working through legitimate sites to place spyware or other malicious programs on the computers of ordinary users, according to Trends in Badware 2007, a report by StopBadware. Criminals can access users' private information through links and software placed on these sites. The report outlines current practices, lists compromise...

Two major changes have occurred in public company boards, both without regulatory impetus, according to SpencerStuart's 2007 Board Index. These are a more strategic, hands-on approach to identifying and screening new director candidates as well as revised director compensation packages.

A new paper from Butterfield Private Office outlines private trust companies and how ultra-wealthy individuals and families can use them to manage a wide variety of assets while retaining a large measure of control over the administration of those assets.

The client/manager relationship can develop into a very personalized helping process. However, few managers are adept at directing their clients to use other, more appropriate resources or know how to divert or avoid personal topics with clients. The result is ineffective help for clients and personal and financial cost to families and family offic...

As the management and control of a family office passes to a younger generation, it is common for new leadership to reassess many of the organization's strategic elements against a new measurement criteria, a necessary process that can lead to difficult and transformational decisions. For many, the single-family offices that remain will bear little...