A board of directors rely on a variety of documents to fulfill its responsibilities, ranging from legal requirements to internal policies and guidelines. To make informed decisions, directors must have access to comprehensive accurate, precise and concise information.
Having the right board documents is essential for any non-profit to be successful. A board can get overwhelmed with administrative duties with no appropriate documents and lose focus on the strategy. It’s crucial to keep these five documents available to ensure that your board is fulfilling its fiduciary duty of accountability.
Board papers are the materials that board members study prior to and during board meetings. They are crucial because they provide context and background information which helps boards make informed decisions. To be effective, board papers should be concise, clear and complete. They should be a combination of the three C’s of communication:
Financial Statements
Board members require a simple visual representation of the financial health of their company to be aware of what is owned, how much cash is available and what expenses are authorized by the board. The board board documents must be knowledgeable about the company’s finances, so that they can ask the appropriate questions during meetings and oversee the CEO’s financial accountability.
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