Content
Leading article...
Anything up his sleeve?
General tax...
Relaxed association
File under 'e'
Research costs?
Give early
A tax on houses
Pension changes
Holiday entitlement
EISy money
VAT...
20:20 vision
Horses for courses?
Do it yourself
That's entertainment
All in the contract?
Where am I?
Law items...
What's in a title?
The privileged few
Called to account
Don't mince words
| The title 'company director' conjures up for some people the Rolls, the cigar, the big bonus. For most directors, it means meetings, more meetings, and heavy legal responsibilities. If your company goes bust, your actions can be scrutinised to see if you should have done more to protect the creditors. If you acted wrongly, you can be disqualified as a director, or even made liable for debts. For those reasons, becoming a director isn't something you want to do lightly. You certainly don't want to be one without knowing about it. In two recent cases, individuals were directors of one company, and that company was named as a director of several others. A company can't turn up to board meetings, of course – the individuals acted as directors on their company's behalf. So, did that make them personally responsible? The judges said yes and no – one of them had filled the role of a director, but others hadn't. It depends on the particular facts and on how you behave. If you are involved in running a company, you have to be careful – if you are pulling the strings, you may be tied up in them even if you don't have the formal title.  |