Unlike other professional groups and listed companies, such as accountants and tax advisers who are members of institutes, directors are not subject to a code of professional conduct.

The Institute of Directors has published a policy paper, A voluntary code of conduct for directors, calling for government to commission the development of a voluntary code to reflect and embed the expectations of society with regards to the business community.

The proposal for a code of conduct for the director community is strongly supported by business leaders. In a members’ survey conducted in May 2022, 78% of respondents agreed that directors should be subject to a code of conduct.

The IoD is calling on the government to commission a high level working group which would draft a voluntary code of conduct for directors. All UK directors would be encouraged to become signatories to the Code, and voluntarily commit themselves to its principles.