Directors Explained

Our Lindsays team are keen to give you as much information as you could possibly need as you go about forming your company.

It is essential that you understand the roles and definitions of both company directors and secretaries. If you have any further questions after reading through our helpful information below, please feel free to contact our advisors, who will be happy to help with your queries.

Company officers are the directors and secretaries who are appointed in order to take care of the running of a company.
There is a distinction to be made between shareholders and directors. Shareholders own a company, yet it is directors who run them and are obliged to not only promote the success of the business but also produce proper accounts and all official documents including their annual returns, as well as ensuring all compliance with health and safety, employment laws and any tax issues.
The number of directors required within a company depends upon the type of company that has been formed. Only one director is required for both private limited companies and unlimited companies. For public limited companies there must be at least two directors in place to run the company.
There are very few limits on who can become a director, it is down to the company members to decide who will best run the company interests. The only restrictions are on those individuals who have an un-discharged bankruptcy, are disqualified from acting as a company director or are under the age of 16.
A company secretary is chosen in order to run the administrative side of a business. Directors are best left free to run the business. It is not a restrictive role and there is nothing to stop a director taking on this separate role. Although secretaries will usually take on the responsibility of sending off important documentation and correspondence to Companies House, the ultimate responsibility will always lie with the directors.
There are similarly not many restrictions to those people who can be nominated as a company’s secretary of a private limited company.. They cannot be the company’s auditor or an un-discharged bankrupt, for public limited companies, a secretary must be formally qualified in accordance with the Companies Act of 2006.