Bolagsstyrning i näringsdrivande stiftelser
(2013) JURM01 20131Department of Law
- Abstract (Swedish)
- Den svenska stiftelsen är av mycket gammalt ursprung, och idag ryms flera vitt skilda stiftelsetyper inom stiftelsebegreppet. Bland dessa utmärker sig den näringsdrivande stiftelsen. Trots att stiftelsen inte är en association kan den bedriva näringsverksamhet, antingen direkt genom stiftelsen, eller indirekt via näringsdrivande dotterbolag. Under det senaste halvseklet har den näringsdrivande stiftelsen blivit alltmer använd och diskuterad, och ett av stiftelsens användningsområden är som ägare till stora svenska koncerner. Idag är det inte längre kontroversiellt att stiftelsen bedriver näringsverksamhet. Detta aktualiserar dock frågor om stiftelsens förvaltning och styrning, eftersom ett visst mått av stabilitet fordras i organisationer... (More)
- Den svenska stiftelsen är av mycket gammalt ursprung, och idag ryms flera vitt skilda stiftelsetyper inom stiftelsebegreppet. Bland dessa utmärker sig den näringsdrivande stiftelsen. Trots att stiftelsen inte är en association kan den bedriva näringsverksamhet, antingen direkt genom stiftelsen, eller indirekt via näringsdrivande dotterbolag. Under det senaste halvseklet har den näringsdrivande stiftelsen blivit alltmer använd och diskuterad, och ett av stiftelsens användningsområden är som ägare till stora svenska koncerner. Idag är det inte längre kontroversiellt att stiftelsen bedriver näringsverksamhet. Detta aktualiserar dock frågor om stiftelsens förvaltning och styrning, eftersom ett visst mått av stabilitet fordras i organisationer som bedriver näringsverksamhet. I och med att stiftelsen inte har ett vinstsyfte och inte heller några ägare eller medlemmar, utan kan sägas vara en självägande förmögenhet, saknas den kontroll som finns i aktiebolag och föreningar, där ägarna eller medlemmarna övervakar styrelsens och VD:s förvaltning. Stiftelsen har istället ett stiftelseändamål, vilket ger uttryck för stiftarens vilja, och detta ska tillsammans med förvaltningsföreskrifter i stiftelseförordnandet och gällande lagstiftning, bland annat regler om revision och tillsyn, garantera att förvaltningen sker på ett betryggande sätt. Sammantaget syftar denna ordning till att ge motsvarande garantier för god förvaltning i stiftelsen som i aktiebolaget. Bolagsstyrningsregleringen i stiftelsen är dock jämfört med aktiebolagets mycket sparsam, dels beroende på principen inom stiftelserätten om att stiftarens vilja i största möjliga mån inte ska åsidosättas, vilket försvårar införande av tvingande bolagsstyrningsreglering, dels då regleringen ska omfatta vitt skilda stiftelsetyper, och inte endast den näringsdrivande stiftelsen.
I uppsatsen studeras några utvalda frågor som är centrala för stiftelsens bolagsstyrning, såsom utseende av styrelseledamöter och styrelsens ordförande, styrelsens sammansättning och entledigande av styrelseledamöter. Reglerna analyseras med hjälp av jämförelser med det svenska aktiebolaget, den danska stiftelsen, och den norska stiftelsen. Analysen utmynnar i ett antal förslag: dels om införandet av en reglering som syftar till att skapa tydligare och utförligare stiftelseförordnanden; dels om inrättande av ett kontrollorgan, bland annat med uppgift att lämna förslag till styrelseledamöter, styrelseordförande, revisor och arvoden för dessa; samt dels om införandet av en fylligare reglering om information och dokumentation. Dessutom behandlas frågan om införande av särreglering för den näringsdrivande stiftelsen, antingen genom separat lag eller genom en bolagsstyrningskod, men denna besvaras nekande. (Less) - Abstract
- The Swedish foundation (Sw: stiftelse) is of old origin, and today the concept comprises several different types of foundations, among which the enterprise foundation stands out. Though the foundation is not a form of business entity, it can still carry out commercial activities, either directly through the foundation in its own name, or indirectly via subsidiary companies. During the last half-century the enterprise foundation has become increasingly employed and debated, and one of the foundation’s areas of use consists of functioning as the owner of large groups of companies. It is no longer controversial that the foundation may carry out commercial activities. However, this raises questions concerning the management and the governance... (More)
- The Swedish foundation (Sw: stiftelse) is of old origin, and today the concept comprises several different types of foundations, among which the enterprise foundation stands out. Though the foundation is not a form of business entity, it can still carry out commercial activities, either directly through the foundation in its own name, or indirectly via subsidiary companies. During the last half-century the enterprise foundation has become increasingly employed and debated, and one of the foundation’s areas of use consists of functioning as the owner of large groups of companies. It is no longer controversial that the foundation may carry out commercial activities. However, this raises questions concerning the management and the governance of the foundation, since a certain amount of stability is required in organisations that carry out commercial activity. As a result of the absence of a profit-making purpose in the foundation, as well as the absence of any owners or members – thus constituting a self-owned capital – the control which exists in companies and associations is missing, where the owners or members monitor the board of directors’ and the management’s activities. Instead, the foundation has a purpose, which expresses the founder’s intention with the foundation, and this shall, together with the administrative rules of the foundation and applicable legislation, e.g. rules on auditing and supervision by the authorities, guarantee safe and proper management. Altogether, this order aims at providing corresponding guarantees for good governance in the foundation, as apply to the company. However, the corporate governance regulation in the foundation compared to the rules that apply to the company is sparse, partly dependent on a principle within the Swedish foundation law stipulating that the founder’s intention with the foundation to the greatest possible extent shall not be overridden, which complicates the adoption of mandatory legislation, and partly because the regulation shall comprise different types of foundations, and not solely the enterprise foundation.
In this thesis some selected matters are examined, central for the governance of the foundation, such as the appointment of board members and the chairman of the board, the composition of the board, and the removal of board members. The rules are analysed by means of comparisons with the Swedish company, the Danish foundation, and the Norwegian foundation. The analysis gives rise to a number of proposals for improvements: first, a regulation that aims to generate clearer and more detailed administrative rules of the foundations; second, the implementation of a supervisory body, i.a. with duties to make suggestions for the appointment of board members, chairman of the board, auditors, and their remuneration; and third, a more detailed regulation on information and documentation. Further, the question of an introduction of specific provisions for the enterprise foundation – either through a separate law, or through a code of corporate governance – is discussed, but is however not recommended. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/4006439
- author
- Wittbom, Sigrid LU
- supervisor
- organization
- alternative title
- Corporate governance in enterprise foundations
- course
- JURM01 20131
- year
- 2013
- type
- H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
- subject
- keywords
- stiftelserätt, associationsrätt
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 4006439
- date added to LUP
- 2013-09-23 08:30:59
- date last changed
- 2013-09-23 08:30:59
@misc{4006439,
abstract = {{The Swedish foundation (Sw: stiftelse) is of old origin, and today the concept comprises several different types of foundations, among which the enterprise foundation stands out. Though the foundation is not a form of business entity, it can still carry out commercial activities, either directly through the foundation in its own name, or indirectly via subsidiary companies. During the last half-century the enterprise foundation has become increasingly employed and debated, and one of the foundation’s areas of use consists of functioning as the owner of large groups of companies. It is no longer controversial that the foundation may carry out commercial activities. However, this raises questions concerning the management and the governance of the foundation, since a certain amount of stability is required in organisations that carry out commercial activity. As a result of the absence of a profit-making purpose in the foundation, as well as the absence of any owners or members – thus constituting a self-owned capital – the control which exists in companies and associations is missing, where the owners or members monitor the board of directors’ and the management’s activities. Instead, the foundation has a purpose, which expresses the founder’s intention with the foundation, and this shall, together with the administrative rules of the foundation and applicable legislation, e.g. rules on auditing and supervision by the authorities, guarantee safe and proper management. Altogether, this order aims at providing corresponding guarantees for good governance in the foundation, as apply to the company. However, the corporate governance regulation in the foundation compared to the rules that apply to the company is sparse, partly dependent on a principle within the Swedish foundation law stipulating that the founder’s intention with the foundation to the greatest possible extent shall not be overridden, which complicates the adoption of mandatory legislation, and partly because the regulation shall comprise different types of foundations, and not solely the enterprise foundation.
In this thesis some selected matters are examined, central for the governance of the foundation, such as the appointment of board members and the chairman of the board, the composition of the board, and the removal of board members. The rules are analysed by means of comparisons with the Swedish company, the Danish foundation, and the Norwegian foundation. The analysis gives rise to a number of proposals for improvements: first, a regulation that aims to generate clearer and more detailed administrative rules of the foundations; second, the implementation of a supervisory body, i.a. with duties to make suggestions for the appointment of board members, chairman of the board, auditors, and their remuneration; and third, a more detailed regulation on information and documentation. Further, the question of an introduction of specific provisions for the enterprise foundation – either through a separate law, or through a code of corporate governance – is discussed, but is however not recommended.}},
author = {{Wittbom, Sigrid}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Bolagsstyrning i näringsdrivande stiftelser}},
year = {{2013}},
}