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.
Instead, board minutes, or portions of board minutes, can be privileged under US law when they capture legal advice rendered either by in-house lawyers or external lawyers or discussions of ongoing litigation. Board participants should be aware of the potential for a waiver of the privilege.
Minutes of general meetings are usually made available to all members and, in the case of a charitable company, they must be. The following terms are frequently used in minutes. It is important that they are used consistently, and everyone involved understands their meaning.
There is no general requirement that board minutes be public – though some countries have laws that they must be available to members. However, not-for-profit organisations earn trust by being open about how they handle the public trust that has been granted to them.
Board minutes often contain information that is subject to the attorney-client privilege and that directors may prefer to keep confidential. However, most jurisdictions allow stockholders to inspect corporate books and records, including board minutes.
Finalized board meeting minutes must be distributed to all directors and shareholders, regardless of their attendance at the meeting. The board chairman must approve the minutes before distribution, ensuring the document reflects an accurate and concise record of the meeting.
In most cases, the meeting secretary will sign the approved copy of the minutes, while some boards require all present board members to sign the approved minutes.
Board minutes often contain information that is subject to the attorney-client privilege and that directors may prefer to keep confidential. However, most jurisdictions allow stockholders to inspect corporate books and records, including board minutes.
They are legally required to include these details: Date, time, and location of the meeting. Record of notice of board meeting provision and acknowledgment. Names of attendees and absentees, including guests. Approval of previous meeting minutes.
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).