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.
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).
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.
Legal requirements for board meeting minutes include the name of the company, date and location, names of present and absent directors, and a record of all the proceedings during the meeting. Legal documents and reports must come as attachments.
The board should assume the minutes are confidential and, in most cases, they will remain so. They should also realise that, sooner or later, the minutes may be available as part of a legal case. In short, they should include everything necessary to show that the directors are doing their duty.
Federal and state-level laws, as well as a company's incorporation documents, require public and private corporations—including C-corps—to have boards of directors (BoDs). Companies that are formed as LLCs (limited liability companies) do not have the same requirements, although some still choose to assemble a board.
Meeting minutes don't need to capture discussions word by word, but they should effectively summarize key items and decisions to provide a clear and concise record of the meeting. Know that it's perfectly acceptable to write “a discussion of the options ensued.” If you need clarification on anything, be sure to ask.
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.
What do the minutes contain? Time, date and place of meeting. List of people attending. List of absent members of the group. Approval of the previous meeting's minutes, and any matters arising from those minutes. For each item in the agenda, a record of the principal points discussed and decisions taken.
What information do board meeting minutes contain? Meeting date, time and location. Type of meeting. Names and titles of attendees and guests. Any absent board directors. Quorum. Notes about directors who left early or re-entered the meeting. Board approvals, resolutions and acceptance of reports. Overview of discussions.