COMPANY directors risk a criminal record for failing to ensure that their companies comply with stringent regulations, delegates to a seminar will be told.

Law firm Edwards Geldard and company secretarial specialists Comrus say that hundreds of companies fall foul of the law every year, putting directors at risk of prosecution.

Newport solicitor Susan Dasent, who is a director of Comrus, said: "Last year company directors in the UK paid Companies House £29 million in fines for failing to submit their company accounts on time, if at all.

"Individual directors can be fined up to £5,000 and be left with a criminal record." Ms Dasent said: "Many companies also fail to submit their annual return by the deadline. "This can imply that the company is no longer trading, and as a result it may be struck off the register of companies. This can be disastrous as the company would then no longer exist as a legal entity."

Ms Dasent said many other important obligations must now be carried out by company secretaries, yet many companies disregard the role, or treat it so casually that they appoint a totally unsuitable person, such as a spouse, with no experience of the work or awareness of the responsibilities involved.

She added: "Even larger companies don't need a full-time company secretary on the payroll. The work can be outsourced at reasonable cost."

Rod Thurman, senior partner at Edwards Geldard, said: "We will be explaining in the seminar the many ways that company directors can often unwittingly break the law." The seminar will take place at Edwards Geldards Cardiff office on October 4. For further details contact Clare McCarthy on 029 2039 1775.

*PICTURED: Comrus directors Tim Warwick and Susan Dasent.