On 7 May 2009, the FSA's Chief Executive, Hector Sants, made a speech on effective governance and risk management. This focused on two areas; namely, competence and probity of senior management and expectations of the role and skills of executive and non-executive directors (NEDs). In his speech, he explained that the FSA intends to changes its approach to evaluating the competence and probity of senior management. It intends to move away from reliance on senior management's judgements and to move towards reviewing such judgements and taking action if necessary. Emphasis will be placed on the need for NEDs to possess the skills to assess risk, understand the impact of such risk on the firm and to provide competent and independent advice. While these are UK initiatives, the intended changes could provide useful guidance for Irish firms when assessing the skills and competence of senior management, executive directors and NEDs.