Resources from Nasdaq Governance Solutions
Taking Effective Board Meeting Minutes
When it comes to board meetings, creating and maintaining a record of minutes is an essential good governance practice.
Nasdaq Governance Solutions is committed to enabling companies of all sizes and people of all backgrounds to come together and prosper. When it comes to board meetings, creating and maintaining a record of minutes is an essential good governance practice.
Meeting minutes serve as an impartial “witness” that a board is carrying out its fiduciary responsibilities and employing a deliberative decision-making process. They facilitate the books and record obligations of a company.
Read on to discover key takeaways on meeting minutes and download a simple template that you can utilize for your next board meeting.
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Nasdaq Governance Solutions is committed to enabling companies of all sizes and people of all backgrounds to come together and prosper. When it comes to board meetings, creating and maintaining a record of minutes is an essential good governance practice.
Meeting minutes serve as an impartial “witness” that a board is carrying out its fiduciary responsibilities and employing a deliberative decision-making process. They facilitate the books and record obligations of a company.
Read on to discover key takeaways on meeting minutes and download a simple template that you can utilize for your next board meeting.
Curious about how to structure your meeting minutes? Try our customizable minutes template. Download the template →
Please check your inbox to access the template.
Key Takeaways: Board Meeting Minutes
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1. Treat Minutes as Legal Record
While board meeting minutes need not read as a transcript of every interaction, they should be thorough and treated as legal record. Minutes may become important when it comes to legal proceedings, an audit, or regulatory review. It is a best practice to circulate minutes to presenters, counsel, committees, and the board chair for feedback.
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2. Utilize a Template
A template increases efficiency by allowing the corporate secretary to focus on important items, such as capturing decisions, motions, and key deliberations. Prepare a template in advance to get finer details out of the way. Once you develop a template, the meeting’s substance takes center stage.
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3. Leverage a Board Portal Software
A board portal, like Nasdaq Boardvantage®, is a valuable tool for streamlining meeting minutes. Portals allow for the quick distribution of draft minutes for final approval while memories are fresh. Once distributed, they can facilitate a speedy sign-off and store approved minutes in a central location for future reference.
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4. Additional Tips
→ Review materials and previous meeting minutes prior to the meeting so that you're prepared.
→ Sit near the board chair so that you may discreetly ask for clarifications without disrupting the meeting.
→ Keep track of action items and their respective owners in a spreadsheet outside of the minutes template.
→ Adhere to consistent recording and distributing processes for transparency among stakeholders.
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