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.
Any board member can take board meeting minutes, although it is typically the responsibility of the board secretary.
They are a legal requirement that provides a historical account of important matters, ensuring transparency and accountability, and provides a means of communication between board members and stakeholders who were not present at the meeting.
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).
Record keeping: Minutes are important in a meeting because they are the official record for discussions, decisions and action items. Taking thorough minutes ensures directors have a point of reference for what occurred during the meeting at any point in the future.
Board meeting minutes are an objective record of what took place during a board meeting. The minutes are typically used for internal purposes like record-keeping and for posterity. Minutes can serve to inform future meetings and recall what was discussed, agreed upon or dismissed by a company's board members.
Who should be responsible for taking these notes? At a board meeting the answer is the company secretary. Taking minutes doesn't just mean summarising the meetings, as minutes provide the board members with an understanding of actions to be taken from the written records.
Legal implications of not keeping minutes The law requires every company to take minutes of all proceedings at board meetings and to keep them for ten years from the date of the meeting. Every director would be committing an offence if the company does not comply with these requirements.
6.2 Minutes of a General Meeting should be signed and dated by the Chairman of the meeting or in the event of death or inability of the Chairman, by any director duly authorized by the Board for the purpose, within thirty days of the General Meeting.
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).
Format of the minutes Minutes of a meeting can be kept in writing or by using an audio or video recording. If an audio or video recording is used, each person attending the meeting must state his or her name on the recording. The format of the minutes should closely follow the format of the agenda.