Advisory board

An Advisory Board is an advisory body. Councils often have little or no decision-making powers and control functions, but is limited to consultations and referrals.

In contrast to the standing advisory committees are ( for example, the commissions of inquiry of the German Bundestag ) mostly consultative bodies that operate only for a limited time.

Advisory Board is also the name for a member of an advisory board.

Function and differentiation

Serve councils

• The participation of stakeholders ( " Stakeholders " ) (for example, parents' council, town council )
• The use of external expertise of (eg Scientific Advisory Council on Global Change )
• The public documentation that issues / Affected are perceived by each organization as important and
• The honor of those who are appointed to the advisory board.

Councils will be used by institutions and organizations of all kinds, such as:

• Parliaments and governments
• Government departments and agencies
• Clubs and Associations
• Companies in particular organizer - see Article Advisory Board, Customer Advisory Board and passenger advisory board.

The advisory councils (in the sense of a member of the Advisory Board) are usually named, but can also be selected. You can volunteer, be active against non-cash benefit or a fee.

Legally regulated councils

A number of councils are formed due to laws. Examples are:

• Institute Advisory Board or Advisory Committee at a correctional facility ( prison )
• Ausländerbeirat
• Advisory Board of a GmbH ( according to the rules for the supervisory board of a stock corporation ).
• Parent Council
• Conservation Advisory Board
• Town council

Councils of government institutions often serve to represent the interests of affected citizens or to ensure public participation. Examples include Institute Advisory Boards, Total parents' councils, school councils or safety councils. Membership of advisory boards is mostly honorary.

Also on a statutory basis management councils are formed to represent the home owners' association pursuant to Property Act.

Scientific Advisory Boards

On behalf of universities, research projects, governments or parliaments scientific advisory boards are appointed often. These are used for scientific evaluation of the results and advising decision makers. Examples are:

• Scientific Advisory Council to the Federal Ministry of Finance
• Scientific Advisory Board psychotherapy
• Scientific Advisory Council on Global Change.

Other councils

In particular, in clubs, associations and company advisory boards are often created on a voluntary basis or on the basis of statutes. The powers and composition of an advisory board can be defined here freely and are in contrast to the Supervisory Board normalized by law.

An example where an advisory board is also used as a control instrument is the limited partnership, such as closed-end funds. In this there is no obligation to set up a supervisory board. Nevertheless, the courts apply corporate law at the Advisory Board Disclaimer often by analogy.

Problem areas

Critics of corporate advisory boards criticize the following aspects:

• The practice of many large companies to employ advisory boards, consisting mainly of politicians, is criticized to be a form of lobbying or the hidden influence on political decisions. Consultants point out that in particular a professional structure of the Advisory Board and a targeted staffing are important prerequisites for a successful advisory work.
• Advisory boards of companies in particular often grow by mergers. No longer necessary supervisory boards are then bound by the Advisory Board of the new company.
• Banks, financial service providers, electricity providers and insurers maintain large councils. Here the presence of representatives from the policy is particularly striking.