Correct and accurate board meeting minutes are a key part of any successful and legally compliant business for a number of reasons.
For a start, they make sure that the directors of the company are thinking about and fulfilling their role as directors.
There are a number of directors' duties outlined in the Companies Act 2006, including:
- trying to make the company a success, using skills, experience and judgment
- following the rules of the company as shown in its articles of association
- making decisions that are in the interests of the company rather than themselves
Directors can be found personally liable and fined or disqualified from acting as a director if they don’t observe the rules, so it’s important to try and follow them.
Board meeting minutes will help directors ensure they are sticking to the rules by stating that in making a particular decision, the directors have considered their duties.
The board meeting minutes will then act as evidence that, in taking a particular decision, the directors considered their duties. The courts will look at this evidence if the company was ever to run into legal trouble. You are legally required to keep minutes for at least 10 years from the date of the meeting.