The managing director of the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority recently announced that "anyone that thinks for one minute that increased regulation is not going to happen hasn’t been paying attention. Not only will it happen but I am confident that, if we are to stay in this game, we will have to adopt ALL of the regulations". These words reverberated around the world leaving stakeholders in Cayman financial services to contemplate a new era of regulation.
Recent corporate scandals, shareholder activism, media criticism and a call for the review of legislation have caused a re-examination of the role and accountability of directors. As a result, directors have become increasingly active in their oversight of corporate activities but, as more eyes focus on the board, it has become correspondingly more difficult to recruit qualified independent directors.