ABSTRACT
The book is concerned with two groups: directors and creditors. This chapter focuses on the former. It explains the different kinds of directors which exist in law and practice. These include directors appointed according to law (de jure), de facto directors and shadow directors, and it notes that in practice directors tend to be either executive or non-executive directors. The chapter distinguishes between de facto and shadow directors. It then identifies many of the responsibilities and obligations contained in the Companies Act 2006 and the Insolvency Act 1986 that directors have and notes that they exist to provide safeguards for creditors. Apart from some consideration of the criminal liability of directors for fraudulent trading, the obligations discussed in the book are civil in nature.
