It is not uncommon for a person's job title to include the word "director", such as "Finance Director" or "Marketing Director". While such roles will carry a high level of responsibility, the individuals in these positions are not always formally appointed to the company's Board of directors. Even though such persons are not formally appointed as directors, they may still owe all (or at least some) of the same directors' duties as an appointed director.
DAC Beachcroft's GC Horizon Scanner is a selection of legal and regulatory developments that we consider are the most interesting and relevant to General Counsel, senior managers and professionals, allowing them to keep abreast of issues which are likely to impact their business, prepare for opportunities and mitigate risks.
A new era of corporate compliance in a time of financial crisis |
On 25 June 2020, new legislation came into force in the UK which makes it much more difficult for suppliers to terminate contracts where the customer is subject to an insolvency procedure. In this briefing, we highlight the key issues that both suppliers and customers should be aware of and consider whether you should amend termination provisions in new contracts.
In Marex Financial Ltd v Sevilleja [2020] UKSC 31, the UK Supreme Court has opened the way for a judgment creditor to sue a controller of companies who denuded the companies and placed them in liquidation to defeat the creditor's enforcement of a US$5 million judgment. The Court of Appeal had ruled that the creditor was caught by the so-called "reflective principle" that prevents shareholders recovering losses suffered in common with the company. Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and other common law jurisdictions are almost certain to follow suit.
The government’s temporary changes to the insolvency rules to cater for Covid-19 – in particular the new restrictions on the presentation of winding-up petitions – have been well-publicised. These have now been packaged within an Act (the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act (“CIGA”)) which also brought in significant, permanent changes to UK insolvency law.
A recent case has highlighted the dangers of the treatment of a Director’s Loan Account (“DLA”), and the risks to directors of trying to re-categorise their DLAs as salary payments. This can mean that the information previously provided to HMRC was incorrect and puts directors at risk of penalties and possibly even a charge of tax evasion.
Conversion of Director’s Loan Accounts to Dividends
In this week’s update: more details on plans for reforms of governance, audit and executive pay, Companies House is ending its temporary strike-off policy, the court orders virtual meetings on a scheme of arrangement and the FRC calls for participants in a review of company disclosures.
On 25 June 2020, the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill (the “Bill”) received Royal Assent and on 26 June 2020 CIGA came into force. The restructuring team in Mayer Brown’s London office has previously commented on the different elements of the Bill in a series of blog posts and podcasts.
The e-book “Litigation in the Time of Covid-19: Legal issues in commerce, finance and insolvency” analyses the key issues arising out of the coronavirus pandemic, as well as the latest legal developments, in seven areas: contract, corporate insolvency, personal insolvency, company law (including directors’ duties), civil procedure, banking and financial services, and offshore litigation. It is organised in a question and answer format and addresses issues such as: