What are board minutes?
Board minutes are a written record of the proceedings at a board meeting. They are kept as a way to ensure that a business's actions are well-documented and can be used as a legal record. The minutes detail what happened during a meeting, the agenda, decisions made, and other information.
After each meeting, a secretary would be assigned to prepare minutes, essentially written notes, who records the actions and decisions taken by the Board members during a meeting. The minutes of the meeting include the date, time and venue. It also includes the name of the company, each attendees, the subject of the meeting and the agenda.
These minutes will then be reviewed and approved by the board at a subsequent meeting, signed by the secretary of the meeting and recorded in the Minute Book. These minutes are submitted to the shareholders at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and are also available to the public.
What is the purpose of board meeting minutes?
Meeting minutes serve as written evidence that a meeting was held at a particular time and place, who attended and other details.
Board meeting minutes are important as it is the only way that those who were not present for the meeting can know what has been discussed and agreed on at that particular time. They may also be used to show a chain of responsibility for any agreement made during the course of a meeting, and to show how decisions have been reached.
Board Meeting Minutes Template
Board Meeting Minutes Template is a document that is used to record the decisions and the outcomes of a meeting. The purpose of this document is to provide a record of what was discussed and decided at the meeting. The minutes should be accurate and complete so they can provide an accurate record of proceedings.
Every organization has their own preference in terms of how its board minutes should look. However, here are some of the most commonly used fields in a board meeting minutes template
- Location, date, and time
- Names of attendees
- Agenda items
- Motions taken or rescinded
- Actions agreed to be taken
- Open discussion and participation
- Date, time and location for the next meeting
Although the content of your board minutes will change from meeting to meeting, following a standard outline will ensure consistency and accuracy during the minute-taking process.
Here are some board meeting minutes templates that you can download for free right away: