Failed Rangers board want control again
With genuine news stories on Rangers breaking several times a day, recriminations for past failures have understandably taken a backseat to current events, although Sir David Murray and Our Hero have experienced a taster of what is to come.
When the buzz of excitement dies down people will start to ask, ‘Whose fault is this awful mess?’ Board-level management at most public companies includes both executive and non-executive directors. The executives, commonly: chief executive, financial director, and others depending on industry, such as: commercial, technical, HR, run the business on a day-to-day basis. Non-executives are there to ensure the business is on the right course and to act as guardians of shareholders’ interests.
Wikipedia gives a useful summary for non-executive responsibility, specifically for: strategy, performance, risk and people.
Risk is the word I would like to draw your attention to here. Wikipedia suggests:
“Non-executive directors should satisfy themselves that financial information is accurate and that financial controls and systems of risk management are robust and defensible”.
Former Rangers non-executive director, Paul Murray, didn’t have any responsibility for team matters. He wasn’t the man charged with preparing accounts. Health and Safety were not his remit. Paul Murray’s duty was to ensure that financial information was accurate and that financial controls and systems of risk management were robust and defensible.
Risk management! This is the guy who yesterday told the media he was keen to setup a rival bid for Rangers. Good grief! It was his job to ask questions of the financial arrangements at the club which other shareholders were unable to ask. He was there to dig deeply enough into these matters to satisfy himself that the executive directors of the club were dealing with financial matters appropriately.
Whether they win the First Tier Tribunal or not, Rangers have already paid a heavy price for this tax issue, responsibility for which rests squarely on the shoulders of the non-executives who enjoyed the prestige of being a Rangers director (I know) but failed to carry out their duties to a standard that protected the club from meltdown.
Give him the job!
One final push (this week) for the Vanessa Riddle Appeal. We have a Celtic top signed by the first team squad available to auction on eBay. You can bid on the auction and help send Vanessa for the treatment she needs by clicking here. Thanks to Penfold for the donation and to Taggsybhoy for organising (yet again).
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