In the light of recent corporate collapses such as British Home Stores and Carillion, where it appears that directors’ action or inaction may have had a part to play in the demise of these companies, analyse and evaluate the strength of the proposals in this paper.

The Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy has issued a consultation paper in March 2018 proposing tighter controls on the corporate governance of companies faced with the prospect of insolvency. In the light of recent corporate collapses such as British Home Stores and Carillion, where it appears that directors’ action or inaction may have had a part to play in the demise of these companies, analyse and evaluate the strength of the proposals in this paper.