The minutes of the board meeting are the official record of what happened at a board session. They are legal records of the discussion and decisions made, they increase the trust of stakeholders and are a source of support for corporate governance goals and ESG as well as to hold directors accountable.

The most important part of board meeting minutes are accurate notes. Board meetings can be tense, but the minutes should remain impartial regardless of opinions being expressed. Making sure the minutes are as impartial as possible can help protect the board from legal liability, and it is important to look at the context of any decision or statement prior to making it part of the document.

While you should strive for consistency in format and language from meeting to, it’s also a good idea to use a pre-approved board minute template to speed up the process. This will ensure all the necessary details, such as who called the meeting and if a quorum was present, as well as the manner in which they were voted upon, any points of procedure or appeals, as well the time at which the board met and when it adjourned, are included.

Include any additional documents presented during the board meeting, like presentations or reports. These can be attached to the board minutes as an appendix or in an minutes of the board meeting index at the end of the document, according to how the board wants to organize their board materials.