The Responsibilities of a Director in a Limited Company

Every limited company is owned by its shareholders, but it is run by a director. Apart from ensuring overall management and administration of the whole organization, the director has multi-faceted tasks in making sure operations are smooth and set targets are met at all times. Under the Companies Act the directors' roles are defined clearly whereby they are placed in positions to ensure success of the business.

Among the responsibilities of any director, particularly in limited liability companies are ensuring all routine requirements are fulfilled on time. Among these business processes would be the implementation of local and national laws on health and safety, labor and employment and taxes. Reports on the same must be sent to the Companies House, along with submission of the annual accounts of the limited company.

Other documents that must be prepared and delivered to the Companies House include annual returns, notifications on changes of company's officers and registered office, allotment of shares and registration of charges. The Company House also has the same stringent requirements for privately run companies, like requiring fourteen days for the information on a director's appointment, end of term and changes in the director's details. Such must be submitted within two weeks from the day of the development.

Any company with Ltd. or LLC in their business name has at least one director, unlike public limited companies where at least two directors must be seated. Also, it is the shareholders of the limited companies that appoint the director, depending on the group's preference. They may require certain experience or expertise specific to the industry where the company belongs.

Candidates for the director of any limited liability company must also be above sixteen (16) years of age. Permission from court will also be required from candidates who have been disqualified by court for such position, or have a court record as undischarged bankrupt.

For companies who have corporate directors running their business from 2006 up to now, they must appoint at least on director before October 1, 2010. Such appointment must be in compliance with the Articles of Association of the limited company, the guidebook containing rules and regulations for running the company. Most of these guidebooks contain the responsibilities of the director; it includes how many directors would be needed and their length of tenure, among others.

Private companies, however, have a different approach with their Articles of Association, as provided by the Companies Act. Directors of the private companies may or may not be involved in the daily management and administration, but still hold the same legal responsibilities like the directors in the LLCs.

The Articles of Association of any limited company also state specifics accorded to directors after their term has ended. It's the common practice for limited liability companies to allow re-election of directors. This usually takes place after their term has ended, and they could express intent for directorship again in the annual assemblies or general meetings of shareholders following the end of their terms.

Jim F. Roberts has been expertly writing articles for 5 years on a variety of topics of interest. He finally discovered that starting a business requires a good knowledge on the types of company formations like solo ownership, Ltd., LLC, Limited Company and all the requirements in a business start-up.