Independent directors’ exits are up 14.5%

In FY23, the number of independent directors leaving company boards grew by 14.5%. According to a report in The Financial Express, 881 IDs left their jobs in India during the previous fiscal year. Due to corporate fraud and accounting irregularities, independent directors are under heightened scrutiny. They are required to voice concerns and record dissent on board matters, and they are supposed to assist in the identification of fraud. IDs are protected under the Companies Act, but they are among the first to be scrutinised when something goes wrong. The introduction of the Companies Act 2013 and the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements Regulations has elevated the importance of IDs.