Ever wondered why you are not the rich finance director of a big corporation? Do you possess the same talent for juggling flaming clubs as a corgi? Ever wondered if the two might be related? Don't despair! A mixture of our swelling aversion to risk and our easy lurch to litigation may soon ride to your rescue.

Currently, a curious aspect about working for a top investment bank, or a leading law firm, or a major accountancy practice, is that they quiz you during your application interview about your qualifications, experience and achievements, but never mention the one factor that seems to form such a crucial part of life at the most senior rungs of the corporate ladder — your flair for juggling.

At a certain stage in any promising executive's career he will be initiated into the masonic weekends spent at country house hotels learning to juggle, to build rafts from oil drums, to prance on hot coals, and to race quad bikes. A banker reaches a moment in his career when the only way he can crack a really big takeover deal is if he has mastered juggling. Who knows? Maybe at final document-signing sessions all the legal papers are juggled, circus-style, between the various CEOs, lawyers and bankers sealing the deal.

But the fire-juggling days could soon be over. The new Corporate Manslaughter Act may put an end to high-risk awaydays as company bosses seek to avoid the risk of being fined or jailed as a result of an accident suffered by a staff member.

So in place of fire-eating, there will be flower-arranging. Out will go kayaking, and in will come cooking — not the books, unless your firm is hosting a retro Enron-themed awayday.