The minutes of board meetings are a crucial document of crucial information and governance processes. When well prepared and endorsed they form the basis for post-decision evaluations and help boards to hold themselves accountable to their agreed-upon decisions. They can also prevent the board from taking shortcuts in the future, which could cause problems for the company’s stakeholders.

Minutes are usually written by the presiding board member or someone on the staff of an organization. This could be a scribe who has expertise in the writing of board minutes or an experienced secretary who knows the information that should not be included. It is crucial that the person who writes the draft minutes is aware of the requirements. This will allow to create notes that are unique and gives the board meetings credibility.

The first thing that is required is a declaration of the date, time and location of the board meeting as this is vital to the accuracy of minutes. A list is required of the presiding officer, directors and non-voting attendees. It’s also important to know the members who were present via telephone or online.

The minutes should be separated into two parts: administrative business and substantive business. Administrative business includes things such as agenda approvals, a summary from previous minutes, or the use of consent agendas (which reduces debate by acknowledging the same items with a single motion). Substantive business consists of more content-rich items like the latest reports from committees, risk management briefings and decisions regarding new service initiatives.

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