Directors must exercise the same care, skill and diligence as might be expected of a reasonably diligent person with the general knowledge, skill and experience that would be expected of someone in the position of Director.
Individual Directors are also required to exercise judgment based on their specific skills, so someone with a financial qualification for example would be expected to exercise more diligence relating to the Company’s accounts than someone without that qualification. In other words, Directors are held to higher standards in their areas of expertise.
Nevertheless “it is not my area of expertise” is not a valid reason for failing to be diligent, asking questions and seeking to understand proposals and information put to the Board.