The Role of the Independent Director: Evidence from a Survey of Independent Directors in Australia

The purpose of this paper is to report the results of a\ud survey of independent directors on a range of issues\ud relating to the execution of their role including the\ud independent directors’ perceptions relating to board\ud effectiveness, board interactions, information sources, and\ud performance and evaluation. A survey was forwarded to\ud independent directors of the top 200 Australian Securities\ud Exchange (ASX) listed companies. The paper aims to\ud provide the perceptions of independent directors\ud themselves and so contribute to the literature through a\ud better understanding of the nature of the work performed\ud by Australian company independent directors and the\ud environment in which it occurs. Findings suggest that the\ud fundamental role of the independent director has not\ud changed as a result of the corporate governance reforms