It’s important that meeting minutes contain a number of items. Here are the most critical components of good minutes:
- Highlights of the topics discussed
- A record of the decisions that were made. The resolutions should stand out. They can be in bold and numbered so that it is easier to extract them to the register of resolutions
- Key factors upon which the decisions were based
- Any discussion demonstrating the diligence of the board and that that directors were mindful of their statutory obligations in arriving at the decisions
- Votes should be plainly reflected
- Use plain English with no jargon
- Avoid too much detail but say enough so that 5 years down the road you can look at the minutes and understand what was decided and why
- Avoid incorporating documents by reference into the minutes without a thorough review of the documents first.
- Also, beyond the narrative minutes, prepare an executive summary of the issues discussed, decisions taken, action points and those responsible for executing them, the agreed or preferred timeline for execution
- For minutes in the financial sector, or where there is an active regulator, minutes will be more detailed than in other companies simply to demonstrate the level of diligence of the Directors.