Eversheds International

Fraud and Financial Crime

Corporate governance and directors' disqualification

The challenges

The last ten years has seen a dramatic increase in regulation affecting business. Directors and officers face spending more of their time on the administrative burden created by such regulation for fear that any breach will lead to civil and/or criminal sanctions.

International businesses will have an even greater need to ensure that their policies and procedures ensure compliance with objective standards of accountability and corporate governance.

Where a business is found to have failed in its duties to ensure acceptable standards of corporate governance, then the Department for Business Enterprise & Regulatory Reform can instigate civil proceedings and seek disqualification as directors of those individuals concerned. Such proceedings affect not only the directors of a company but also those who played a major role in the management or running of the company.

How we can help

Our team at Eversheds can advise businesses on the obligations inherent in their particular industry or profession and represent those caught up in investigations or proceedings.

We can provide advice with an international dimension to include such areas as money laundering, the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the US Sarbanes Oxley regime.

We can assist in any director disqualification proceedings and act for those who face criminal proceedings for such breaches.