A Dunedin woman has been banned from running companies after the collapse of her scaffolding business, according to the Otago Daily Times, which reports she was left “shocked and distressed” by the decision. The surprise is understandable. The commercial failure had already happened. The ban is a second, separate reckoning, and it lands on her personally rather than on the company.
That is the point every director in the trades should take from this. A liquidation ends a company. It does not end the scrutiny of the people who ran it.
The ban arrives after the business is already dead
Under section 385 of the Companies Act 1993, the Registrar of Companies can prohibit someone from being a director or managing…