Company directors are the persons responsible for running an incorporated business. They will generally attend to the day to day decision making within the enterprise, as well as the longer term strategic planning issues of the company.
Director's Duty of Care
Each UK company director is responsible to the business' shareholders. In law, a duty of care is owed to each member and therefore places an obligation to carry out their roles to the best of their abilities.
The directors of a company sometimes own shares in that business, either as part of an incentive scheme or due to the fact that they originally setup the enterprise. In smaller companies in particular, the directors might own the entire share capital of the company and therefore the directors and shareholders are the same persons.
Company Director's Responsibility for Specific Areas of the Business
Most companies in the UK are set-up with just one or two directors. As the business grows, it is usual to increase the size of the management structure and therefore, additional persons might be brought in. Typically, directors with specialist knowledge or skills might be assigned to specific areas of the business.
In a larger company with, for example four directors, one person might be placed in charge of the marketing function, one may be assigned to operations, one to purchasing and another may take charge of human resources.
Register of Company Directors
Every persons acting as a company director must be listed in the statutory records.
