The Independent Directors roles and duties will be those normally required of a Non- Executive Independent Director under Section 166 of the Companies Act, 2013. There are certain duties prescribed for all Directors, both Executive and Non-Executive, which are fiduciary in nature and are as under:
- A director of a company shall act in accordance with the articles of the company.
- A director of a company shall act in good faith in order to promote the objects of the company for the benefit of its members as a whole, and in the best interests of the company, its employees, the shareholders, the community and for the protection of environment.
- A director of a company shall exercise his duties with due and reasonable care, skill and diligence and shall exercise independent judgment.
- A director of a company shall not involve in a situation in which he may have a direct or indirect interest that conflicts, or possibly may conflict, with the interest of the company.
- A director of a company shall not achieve or attempt to achieve any undue gain or advantage either to himself or to his relatives, partners, or associates and if such director is found guilty of making any undue gain, he shall be liable to pay an amount equal to that gain to the company.
- A director of a company shall not assign his office and any assignment so made shall be void.
In addition to the above requirements applicable to all Directors, the role of the Non- Executive Director has the following key elements;
Strategy: Non-Executive Directors should constructively challenge and help in improving proposals on strategy;
Performance: Non-Executive Directors should scrutinize the performance of management in meeting agreed goals and objectives;
Risk: Non-Executive Directors should satisfy themselves on the integrity of financial information and that financial controls and systems of risk management are robust and defensible;
People: Non-Executive Directors are responsible for determining appropriate levels of remuneration of Executive Directors and have a prime role in appointing, and where necessary, removing Executive Directors and in succession planning;
Reporting: Non-Executive Directors take responsibility for the processes for accurately reporting on performance and the financial position of the Company; and
Compliance: Non-Executive Directors should keep governance and compliance with the applicable legislation and regulations under review and the conformity of the Company practices to accepted norms.