The Company Director's Desktop Guide

Overview

Ring-bound version will be available for purchase soon in July 2019

Stay on top of your obligations and save time, trouble and costs

The Company Director’s Desktop Guide is an indispensable source of reference on all areas of company law and practice for directors in every type of organisation. It provides essentially practical, jargon-free guidance on every aspect of a director’s duties drawn from the author’s considerable experience.

Directors and managers are confronted with rapidly changing and increasing legislative requirements – at last count British companies were subject to some 22,000 different statutes. Remaining fully conversant with all the obligations, responsibilities and liabilities demanded under Company – and all the other – laws can therefore be a struggle for even the most diligent director or company secretary.

This book explains those responsibilities and obligations in clear terms, emphasising what the law means in practice, how to implement it and how best to minimise risk and avoid potential penalties.

Practical, Jargon-free

The tasks and responsibilities of the company director are becoming more demanding as the amount and complexity of legislation increases. This is a practically oriented book, ideal for you if you:

• Have no legal training – refers to the law but is jargon-free
• Need to know what you have to do and what you should not do – packed with checklists, hints and warnings
• Are pressed for time – focuses on ensuring that you know the essentials and do not break company law
• Are concerned about your liabilities – outlines how these can arise and provides guidance on how to minimize their effects

As well as being completely revised and updated, the 15th edition of this popular title now includes new and detailed guidance on practical aspects of:

• the continuing application of Companies Act 2006
• the newly required registers of Persons of Significant Control: obtaining and filing the information
• the implementation of the Modern Slavery Act: advising and monitoring those providing services to the company
• gender pay reporting – guidance on setting up and publication
• suggested proposals to prevent a prosecution under the Bribery Act
• property occupation and management
• controlling religious prosetylizing at work
• proposals implementing the new requirement placed on organisations to prohibit tax evasion

Content

1. The nature of the beast: Defining the nature of Directors and their role’
   
2. A rose by any other name: The variety of types of Directors – and their responsibilities
   
3. Scaling the peak: Appointment and status
   
4. Board members – and others – beware: Liabilities and protection
   
5. The risk business
   
6. ‘Ill met’ – without method: Procedures for effective Board Meetings
   
7. A meeting’s two key players – The Chairman and Secretary
8. Board without boredom: Preparation for and administration of Board Meetings
   
9. An Inspector calls: Access, Authorities and Auditors
   
10. Setting an example: Behaviour and approach
    
11. ‘He who communicates leads’: Leadership and management
    
12. Meeting the owners: Shareholders’ Meetings
    
13. ‘Write a better book’: Shareholder communication
    
14. No such thing as bad publcity: The public image
    
15. Managing the property assets
    
16. ‘A personal viewpoint’: Employment considerations
    
17. ‘Comparability and consultation’
18. ‘Directing now’
    Appendices
    Appendix I: Types of companies
    Appendix II: Types of shares
    Appendix III: Possible additional clauses for LTD’s Articles
    Appendix IV: Who is liable?
    Appendix V: Bibliography
    Cases
    

Reviews

‘I have come across many books that have purported to cover similar ground, but most fail by being either too simplistic to be of practical value, or too academic and wordy to sustain the attention of the reader. The Desktop Guide succeeds where its rivals fail, by focusing on the details that matter to directors. It is an excellent guide to what you are letting yourself in for, if you accept that tap on the shoulder.’

Robin Chew, Accounting Technician Magazine

Author

David Martin

As a Director and Secretary of one of the top 250 listed PLCs, for nearly ten years David Martin was responsible for a range of disciplines, including personnel, property and insurance, as well as statutory and legal requirements and corporate/internal communications (three of his annual reports won national awards).

Following a takeover, David founded his own consultancy, Buddenbrook, which has carried out various projects for a range of clients, large and small, for the last 30 years. He has been an employer’s representative on Employment Tribunals.