The statutory duties of directors and officers to act honestly and in good faith and to exercise care, diligence and skill are owed, provides the 2004 Companies Act, "to the company alone".
However, that begs the question, who is the company? Is it the shareholders, or is it those who are now popularly called 'stakeholders' - who include not only shareholders but also creditors, employees and the general public?
Our new Companies Act itself fuels the debate as to whom the duties are owed, in that it also provides that directors may have regard "to the interests of shareholders and employees and the community in which the company operates," thus putting the directors themselves in some doubt as to how many masters they should serve.
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