The minutes of the board meetings are a crucial part of good governance, because they ensure that every discussion and decision is recorded. The board secretary or another person assigned to this task, is usually responsible for taking minutes during a meeting.

The person who takes minutes of meetings must be in a position to listen and record the entire discussion even if some directors are debating a point or arguing. The minutes can also be scrutinized in court should the company be sued, so they need to be as impartial and objective a possible.

Determine the date and time of the meeting. This information is required to organize your minutes after the meeting and allows the reader to find information quickly. It is also important to indicate if the meeting was an ordinary one or a special one. an emergency, or an executive session.

Include all participants at the meeting. This includes the presiding officers, board members, and non-voting attendees such as guests, staff or any other attendees. Having an accurate record of who is in attendance is important, especially in recording meetings conducted remotely.

Include a summary of each item on the agenda. This can be accomplished with a sentence or two of summary that summarizes the major issues being discussed as well as any significant decisions made. It is important not to include too excessive detail, however. In fact, lengthy documents can be overwhelming to the readers and make it difficult for readers to comprehend the overall direction of the company.

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