Survey shows reluctance to become non-exec directors

Nearly two-thirds of business people are less likely to take up an offer to become a non-executive director of a company compared to five years ago.

In the "significantly less likely" category to take up a non-executive directorship 29% agreed this was the case, while 34% said that they were "slightly less likely", according to a survey by Deloitte.

Only 7% said that they were more likely to take up an offer, while 29% reported no change.

According to Brendan Jennings, Head of Audit at Deloitte: "The reason why so many top business people are rejecting offers to become a director is the increased level of responsibility the position now involves.

"84% of respondents said that directors' responsibilities are substantially more onerous now than they were five years ago," Jennings added.

One of the areas of most concern to directors is the new Compliance Statement which was introduced by the Companies Act last year.

Directors will soon be obliged to make annual compliance statements, which cover such matters as company law, tax law and environmental law.

A sample of 1,400 directors and senior managers were surveyed.

The majority of companies surveyed were plc's, commercial state companies, or large privately-owned businesses.