Effective Board Meetings

4. Board Papers

All board directors should come to the meeting well briefed. Distribute board papers on an agreed date before the meeting.

Board papers should include several standard elements.

4.1 The agenda. A full agenda should:

• Fit the agreed objectives of the board meetings (see 1).
• Not be too long.
• Have specific items to discuss, rather than just a list of general areas.
• Include cross references to the relevant items in the board papers.

4.2 Minutes of the previous meeting.

4.3 Management accounts.

• The board should invest considerable time in deciding which pieces of information are the most useful. (See Key performance indicators.)

4.4 Papers relating to specific agenda items.

• For example, a major equipment purchase.A good summarising note enables the board to take such decisions swiftly.