The Fish Rots From The Head: The Crisis in our Boardrooms: Developing the Crucial Skills of the Competent Director

by Bob Garratt

a one-page summary of ten directoral duties. This was commissioned by the Commonwealth Association for Corporate Governance.59 The ten directoral duties outlined are as follows: 1 Legitimacy (working within the letter and spirit of the law). 2 Upholding the three major values of effective governance: accountability, probity and transparency. 3 Ensuring that the company is held in trust (fiduciary duty). 4 Upholding the primary loyalty of each director to the company. 5 Ensuring the duty of care, skill and diligence in decision-making. 6 Ensuring critical review and independence of thought around the boardroom table. 7 Ensuring the delivery of the primary roles and tasks of a board (driving the enterprise forward whilst keeping it under prudent control). 8 Protecting minority shareholders’ interests. 9 Ensuring corporate social responsibility. 10 Ensuring that the board learns, develops and communicates on a regular basis.