Company director: what is his role in the company?

The position of a company director in any business structure is therefore based on appointment and is usually dependent on the qualifications as well as the expected contributions of such a person to the growth of the company.

The roles of a company director, whether new or old, may seem ambiguous or just to oversee the staff of the company. While this is true to an extent, the responsibilities of a company director go beyond those.

This article has been designed to give you a rounded knowledge of the roles and attributes expected from a company director.

Who is a company director?

The company director is a corporate head, usually the CEO (Chief Executive Officer), whose responsibility is to oversee the day-to-day activities of the company and ensure that the Companies House is duly informed about the status of the company.

Although, a company may have a board of directors which usually constitutes the CEO as the insider party and or outside directors. However, the CEO is still the final decision maker of the company who may or may not take the advice given by other board members.

In other words, the company director has the sole responsibility of making sure the company is in good standing, both financially and otherwise.

Roles or functions of a company director

The company director has the following functions to play to be effective. These functions are as stipulated by the Companies Act 2006.

1. Ensuring that the Companies House is kept up to date with up-to-date information on statutory documents like filing of annual accounts and confirmatory statements, tax reports, changes to the company executives, address, name, shareholders, types of shares, persons with significant control, etc. All these must be submitted in due time to the Companies House. 
    
2. The company director must, as a matter of priority, act within the limits of powers as stipulated or outlined by the company’s articles and memorandum of association. These documents stipulate the power that can be wielded by the company director and he must not exceed it. This means that you can only act within the boundaries of the company’s law, anything outside that may have consequences.
    
3. The company director must ensure that the company is successful in its enterprise business. He has the responsibility to the device and strategizes ways by which the company can move forward, make a profit, and outcompete its rivals if need be. As such, a company director must be able to build team spirit within the company and ensure a good relationship between the company and its enterprise clients, suppliers, and communities.
    
4. The company director must ensure that there is no conflict of interests between his employees and the company. This will ensure that everyone is working for the common goal of promoting the company’s interests only.
    
5. Accepting bribes or ‘third-party benefits’ by a company director, in exchange for goods or services to be rendered, is frowned upon and may attract prosecution or penalties from Company or Companies House.
    
6. The company director must also inform other directors or shareholders if there is a chance of personally benefiting from a deal orchestrated by the company before it is executed.
    
7. The company director’s duty is to the company when the company is still solvent and functioning. Otherwise, your duty lies with the creditors of the company.

Attributes of a good company director

The following are some of the important attributes you must possess as the company director to be able to perform your duties effectively.

1. Leadership skills
2. Management skills
3. Solid understanding of legal and regulatory processes
4. Diligence
5. Good communicator
6. People skills
7. Empathetic
8. Knowledge of the industry
9. Risk management
10. Financial, accounting, and tax knowledge
11. Discipline

Who can be a company director?

The Companies Act 2006 stipulates that only an individual can be appointed as a company director for new and old incorporated limited companies. You may be wondering why this stipulation is necessary. It is because the company incorporation law allows a limited company, which is seen as a legal entity, to be incorporated as a shareholder or guarantor of the company.

For this reason, it is important to state emphatically that only an individual can be appointed as a director and not a company, no matter the number of shares they have.

Conclusion

Being a company director is an important role and must be taken with all seriousness and due diligence. This is because the success or failure of the company depends on the general attributes and abilities of its director.