Form with which the board of directors of a corporation records the contents of its first meeting.
Form with which the board of directors of a corporation records the contents of its first meeting.
What to Include in Meeting Minutes Date and time the meeting happened. Names of attendees, as well as absent participants. Acceptance of, or amendments made to, the previous meeting's minutes. Decisions made regarding each item on the agenda, such as: Activities undertaken or agreed upon. Next steps. Outcomes of elections.
The minutes should follow the order of the agenda, with a basic, almost vague, summary sentence or two for each item, along with the name of the person who presented it. Votes taken should appear in their place of order in the agenda. Generally, don't include names.
2. What should be excluded in the meeting minutes? Avoid switching tenses in your writing. Avoid recording the debate; just record the outcome. Avoid making personal observations or opinions. Avoid verbatim quotes. Avoid letting the meeting move on if you're confused.
If there is a correction, the secretary should make the correction to the minutes and add a statement saying, “The minutes have been approved as corrected.”
The minutes should include the point that was discussed and the decision that was reached. Avoid making personal observations or opinions. Don't make your own comments. Stick to just the facts.
The minutes are a factual record of business. Do not include: Opinions or judgments: Leave out statements like "a well done report" or "a heated discussion." Criticism or accolades: Criticism of members, good or bad, should not be included unless it takes the form of an official motion.
Personal opinions and comments Meeting minutes should be objective and impartial. Avoid including personal opinions, judgments, or comments made by attendees, as these can skew the record and undermine the credibility of the minutes. Focus on recording objective facts, discussions, and decisions.
When meeting minutes are inaccurate, it can: Undermine the board's authority: Boards make big decisions during board meetings, including implementing new policies. If those policies turn out to be flawed and the board has no record of why they decided to pass them, the board can appear less intelligent than they are.
Robert's Rules (Section -16) state that “the minutes should contain mainly a record of what was done at the meeting, not what was said by the members.” Minutes are not transcripts of meetings; rather, the document contains a record of actions taken by the body, organized by the meeting's order of business (agenda).