The Company Director's Desktop Guide

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 13th 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 from April 2017
• 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

1. The nature of the beast
2. A rose by any other name
3. Scaling the peak
4. Board members – and others – beware
5. The risk business
6. ‘Ill met’ – without method
7. A meeting’s two key players – The Chairman and Secretary
8. Board without boredom
9. An Inspector calls
10. Setting an example
11. ‘He who communicates leads’
12. Meeting the owners
13. ‘Write a better book’
14. No such thing as bad publcity
15. Managing the property assets
16. ‘A personal viewpoint’
17. ‘Comparability and consultation’
18. ‘Directing now’
    Appendices

‘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

David Martin FCIS, FCIPD, FIoD has many years’ experience as a listed PLC Company Director and Secretary, consultant and author. For the last 21 years he has run his own consultancy, Buddenbrook, carrying out projects for a range of clients, large and small. He is a regular seminar speaker and author of over 40 books.