Getting to know better : Harald Thul

Harald Thul is an audit director at Deloitte Luxembourg. He is also "Réviseur d’Entreprises" in Luxembourg and has around 20 years of experience in the financial and non-financial services in Luxembourg as auditor and at a trust company. 

Harald is specialised in the audit of regulated and non-regulated Private Equity and Real Estate structures reporting under IFRS and/or Lux GAAP on standalone and consolidated basis. 

Harald Thul has been recently appointed Chair of the Financial Companies Committee at ILA.

What are in your opinion, the key attributes for a Director?

I my point of view, a Director should be knowledgeable about the business and up to date with all the legal and regulatory requirements. He should not be an subject matter expert but needs to be able to analyse processes and detect potential issues in the control process of an entity and potential issues on the business itself. He should therefore demonstrate critical thinking and be able to demonstrate sound judgment. This includes the necessary independence.

What do you think makes a great Board?

A great board has a diversified composition to ensure discussing matters from different perspectives. A Great board should be able to discuss matters on time and has the possibility to meet ad hoc if necessary. Board meetings are well prepared and board members are informed on time. A great board is not valued by the frequency of meetings but by the content of its meetings.

What would you change to improve the effectiveness of Luxembourg Boards?

We should be able to use more new technologies. Electronic Board Packs should be the standard. This enables as well the company to document and archive the relevant documents in an efficient way.

What does the outlook of Luxembourg look like, 10 years from now?

The outlook for Luxembourg is highly depending on the developments within the European Union. There are many opportunities but as well as threats linked with the Brexit and potential other changes in the EU. With respect to the industrial challenges Luxembourg demonstrated in the past that it is able to adopt fundamental industrial changes. The Rifkin Strategy “Third Industrial Revolution” underlines the willingness and the ability of Luxembourg to be ready for the future.

How can ILA contribute to the economy, better boards and society?

We are able to support director in sharing knowledge and point of views and provide the platform to discuss future trends. We support directors with training and guidance that increase the quality of governance of Luxembourgish entities.