Family businesses in the GCC have made significant progress in putting corporate governance structures in place but are lagging when it comes to strict implementation — something that could eventually challenge their very existence, a study by the Gulf Family Business Council (GFBC) and McKinsey & Company has revealed. The study, which surveyed the largest GCC family-owned businesses, showed that only 33 per cent of GCC-based family businesses have fully implemented governance systems. The study recommends that the ‘rules of the game’ should be clearly stated to the next generation as early as possible to allow for effective succession planning and transition of leadership.