None shall sleep AICD Review

To assist directors with their duties and responsibilities, the Australian Institute of Company Directors has released a checklist for directors - Fifty Matters to be considered before signing a company's financial statements.

There is no place for a passive or "sleeping" director on today's company or non-for profit board warns AICD chief executive officer John Hall. "Directors, be they paid or volunteers, must have an understanding of the often complex financial statements or face the very real threat of personal liability should financial difficulties arise," he says. "The National Safety Council of Australia is a case in point where a non-executive director and was found liable for $96.7 million for breaching statutory duties in relation to the company's accounts.

"The expertise of the AICD's Accounting and Financial Advisory Committee has been distilled in this checklist of matters that directors should pursue with the company's management. We encourage all Australian directors to make use of this expertise."

To order copies of Fifty matters to be considered before signing a company's financial statements ($12.50 for AICD members, $16.50 non-members) contact: Varian Blanco, AICD Publications Assistant, tel 02 8248 6608 or vblanco@companydirectors.com.au

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The purpose of this database is to provide a full-text record of all articles that have appeared in the CDJ since February 1997. It is aimed to assist in the research and reference process. The database has a full-text index and will enable articles to be easily retrieved.It should be noted that information contained in this database is in pre-publication format only - IT IS NOT THE FINAL PRINTED VERSION OF THE CDJ - therefore there might be slight discrepancies between the contents of this database and the printed CDJ.