A good board chair guides the board to provide clear templates and tools to facilitate consistent reporting. This saves the board’s time and facilitates executive training. You want board reports and board packs that are consistent and easy to read.
Think of this as international financial reporting standards that guide the preparation and presentation of financial statements. You want the executive to present quality board packs that are easy to read and analyze. The sample boardroom tools and templates are.
Boardroom tools and templates
The four key tools of an effective board are
(a) a clear board agenda, as explained in Tool 7 (read the book, How to Get on the Board, … and Be a fantastic director, the 7 tools of an effective board member),
(b) quality board packs,
(c) clear board minutes and
(d) well-written board resolutions and matters arising.
The chairperson must work with the board and executive management to define the format of reports and frequency they would like them. The board must approve the specific templates to improve the quality of reporting and reduce time spent reading board packs. Key templates that must be agreed on are:
(a) annual board plan – showing the planned board meeting and the key business to discuss.
(b) A standard board agenda for each of the scheduled meetings in the annual board plan. This helps executive management prepare board packs in time and promotes transparency.
(c) Board minutes template. Makes reading board minutes easy and simplifies reporting. You don’t want so long minutes that are difficult to read.
(d) Matters arising template and board resolutions template. What were the key matters discussed and what were the resulting resolutions? A standard template provides standardized reporting.
(e) Board paper templates. It makes it easier for boards to read the paper as well as find critical information. To download the editable templates of these templates, visit mustaphabm3.sg-host.com/7boardtools. Find the password to download the free templates in the 7board book.
