Five Types of Board Documents
A board of directors rely on several types of documents in order to fulfill its responsibilities, ranging from legal requirements to internal policies and guidelines. To make effective decisions, directors must have access to comprehensive detailed, accurate and clear information.
It is crucial that any non-profit organization has the proper board documents to ensure success. A board can get overwhelmed with administrative duties without the right materials and lose focus on the strategy. It’s vital to keep these five documents in your arsenal in order to ensure that your board is fulfilling its fiduciary responsibilities of accountability.
Board papers are the documentation that board members go through prior to and during a board meeting. These documents are important because they provide the background and context that allows boards to make informed decisions. To be effective, board documents should be concise, clear and complete – a combination of the three C’s of communication:
Financial Statements
Board members require an easy-to-read visual representation of the financial health of the company to understand what is owned, how much money is in the bank and what expenses are authorized by the board. The board needs to be familiar with the financials of the company in order to ask right questions at meetings and supervise the CEO’s financial accountability.
