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.
Corporate meeting minutes typically include: The meeting's date, time and location. A list of attendees and absentees, including any present board members or officers. Agenda items. Summaries of all discussion points. Details of all activities completed or agreed upon. Results of any votes or motions.
What happens if a minute book is not maintained? If evidence is uncovered that a corporate entity's actions are not documented in historic or active record keeping, the shareholders, members, and management could lose personal liability protection – a situation referred to as “piercing the corporate veil.”
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).
What happens if a minute book is not maintained? If evidence is uncovered that a corporate entity's actions are not documented in historic or active record keeping, the shareholders, members, and management could lose personal liability protection – a situation referred to as “piercing the corporate veil.”
You're not required to file meeting minutes with the state, but you should maintain them in a secure location along with your other important documents, such as articles of incorporation. It's a good idea to keep minutes for seven years in the event of an audit.
Some groups prefer to use Absent and/or Regrets Regrets imply the person told the organizer (probably you) before the meeting that they wouldn't be attending. Absent implies they just didn't show up. You can choose whatever word you like (I default to Regrets even if they didn't tell me in advance) for your minutes.
State-level requirements: In most states, minutes are required for all corporate meetings, including board meetings. Corporate boards must know, understand and abide by their state laws regarding meeting minutes. It's part of their fiduciary duties; not knowing the law doesn't excuse them from following it.
There are three standard styles of minutes: action, discussion, and verbatim. Each style has a specific use. Action minutes record the decisions reached and the actions to be taken, though not recording the discussion that went into making the decisions. This is the most common form of minutes used.
The format for a meeting depends on the meeting type and style. While there is no set format for meeting minutes, templates provide guidelines for essential information that should be included in your documentation.
What Should Be Included in Meeting Minutes? Date and time of the meeting. Names of the meeting participants and those unable to attend (e.g., “regrets”) Acceptance or corrections/amendments to previous meeting minutes. Decisions made about each agenda item, for example: Actions taken or agreed to be taken. Next steps.