Directors strongly advised to understand and fulfil their duties By Opinion By: Parmi Natesan and Prieur du Plessis âDIRECTORS need to understand and execute their legal duties effectively â and thus avoid potential liability.â The key to performing well as a director, and to being able to avoid liability, is to discharge oneâs duties competently. This is particularly important, as the courts are now increasingly holding directors to account for breach of their duties. In South Africa, directorsâ duties are primarily contained in the common law. Some of these have been codified into the Companies Act and are also covered in the King IV Report on Corporate Governance.