Minutes of Meetings
Minutes provide a record of what was said and decisions that were made in a previous meeting.
The Minutes are an extremely important document and the case of formal committee and board meetings, they are held to be an accurate and legally binding record of the meeting.
In such circumstances, it is important for committee members to read minutes thoroughly and then confirm whether the minutes are a true record of what was said.
Hence, in formal meetings, there is always an item on the agenda “Confirmation of minutes of previous meeting”. The role of the Minutes is to:
- Provide an authoritative and permanent record of proceedings
- Provide formal evidence of decisions made and of expenditure and actions authorised
- Provide a record of policy decisions made
- Provide a starting point for action to be taken in the future
- Inform members not present at the meeting
- Assist the conduct of subsequent meetings
If on reading the minutes, a member of the committee, disagrees with what was recorded in the minutes, then they should move to make an amendment. If the motion is agreed to by the majority of members present, the minutes may be altered.
Example Minutes
