due diligence

Non-executive directors beware! They may be coming for you.

Non-executive directors beware! They may be coming for you.

At the very last minute the Insolvency Service, acting for the UK Government, has just abandoned disqualification proceedings against five former non-executive directors of Carillion, which collapsed in 2018. This is a massive relief, not just to those individuals, but to the whole non-exec community as it would have put full responsibility on all non-execs and audit committees to detect and stop hidden executive misconduct. Three ex-Carillion...

D. Using the annual report for your due diligence (the Carillion example)

D. Using the annual report for your due diligence (the Carillion example)

Carillion has entered the pantheon of cursed companies following its recent failure. Politicians and the media have worked themselves in another fit of righteous indignation about greedy management and incompetent boards. The search is out for people to blame, shame and even prosecute. Regulators, sensing the flow of the political wind, are climbing on the bandwagon and looking for blood. Non-executive directors are reasonably enough feeling...