Good Practice Guide: board reporting

Effective board meetings - key elements that contribute to effective meetings

Board meetings should be conducted in an open and inclusive atmosphere that allows for participation by all board members. This guide provides some high-level attributes for the efficient functioning of board meetings, including the role of the company secretary.

Effective board meetings – how to prepare good minutes

Effective minutes are an important record to show the board is discharging its duty of care. Minutes are a record of issues discussed, decisions made and actions required arising from a meeting. This guide provides useful suggestions in preparing good minutes, which is an important record to show that the board has done what is required to discharge its duty of care.

As a busines often comprises many operating divisions, it is useful to prepare a one-page summary of its strategic plans. This template provides an example of key content that can be included in the summary. Board members can then grasp quickly the strategic issues, changes in the business environment, key priorities and financial projections for the businesses.

Guide to treasury reporting for the board

Treasury reports to the board and management enable them to understand the exposure to financial risk, the effectiveness of financial risk management and the likely impact on the company’s financial performance. While there is no universal applicable standard for treasury reports to the board, a set of common issues can be identified.

Adequacy of IT governance in the boardroom

Information technology underpins the processes that an organisation requires to run smoothly. The board must stay informed of what is really happening with IT in its organisation. This checklist provides relevant questions and answers that will allow the board to assess its understanding of the level of IT governance in the organisation.

Board reporting template

Company boards must deal with a range of issues for which board members are expected to understand the key issues and decisions required. This can be assisted by the use of a standardised format for issues to be presented to the board. This template board report highlights the issue, resolution required, background information, options considered, and analysis and recommendation from management as key components of board reports.

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