What to Include and What to Leave Out of Board Meeting Minutes
Minutes of Board meetings are an essential tool in creating transparency, accountability and risk mitigation. How your minutes are prepared can make or break their effectiveness. Incorrect, incongruous or unclear meeting minutes could be a problem in the future, if they are ever required for legal reasons. This is why it’s crucial to know what information should be included, and what’s removed.
The date, the time and the location The information provided will ensure that the minutes are an accurate account of the meeting. You’ll need to take note of whether the meeting was regular or special. It’s also important to note whether the meeting was annual or regular.
Include the key elements of any report that was presented to the board, as well as any alternatives that were considered when making important decisions. You should also record the results of the decision making process including any votes that were taken.
Attendance: Having the same person take the meeting minutes at every meeting and a backup in case they’re absent will result in more transparent, consistent minutes. It’s also beneficial to use old minutes as templates so that the new person taking the minutes is familiar with how it operates.
Stay focused on the facts, not the emotional drama Be sure to keep personal disputes or disagreements, as well as political commentary out of your time. Idle chat, jokes, current events recaps, and other unrelated conversation must be kept out of the minutes too. It’s also important to note any changes made to the minutes.