Written from the perspective of a practising company lawyer, this work is principally concerned with two broad duties owed by directors of British and Australian companies: to act honestly, in good faith and for proper purposes; and to exercise care and diligence. Public attitudes towards directors have altered since the mid-1980s, and the business community has raised its expectations of directors. In response to this shift in public feeling, parliament and the judiciary are adopting a new approach to directors' duties, widening the scope of duties imposed on directors and encouraging a more rigorous approach to corporate governance. This text analyzes this new approach, with reference to English and Australian case-law, and explores the courts' attempts to deal with the myriad of competing interests found within the morass of legal rules, equitable principles and statutory enactment which comprise modern company law.