Introduction

Over recent years, the topic of corporate governance has assumed some importance. Following the finance company collapses that occurred from around 2008, a number of questions have arisen about the standard of governance exhibited by boards of various companies. Some of the failings have led to directors being convicted of criminal offences, and to terms of imprisonment being imposed on a few.  It is also likely that much civil litigation will arise out of the corporate failures of that time.  

In that climate, an opportunity to reflect on aspects of corporate governance is timely. It is always useful to refresh one’s memory on basic principles. In this context, they include the responsibilities and duties of directors, the board’s relationship with senior management, the skills that directors must possess to perform their duties adequately, the diversity of experience that a balanced board may need, the way in which risk management should be addressed and the proper role of regulatory authorities. Those areas, and others, will be the subject of presentations by experienced and knowledgeable practitioners who bring different perspectives to the issues. 

Authors

Authors: Colin Carruthers, Stephen Franks, The Hon Justice Paul Heath, David Jones, Cathy Quinn, Michael Webb