Board meetings are an important event in any company. Many decisions are made regarding the organisation. At the execute level, these decisions have to be based on good information. Yet very few people read board reports, making the entire meeting less productive and information less valuable. Not to mention the fact that business decisions could be made based on incomplete information.
Mar 30, 2021 ● 5 min read
Board reports are notoriously dull to read. The CEO usually prepares them to get board members up to date with the company's performance or specific issues on the board members' agenda. The format of the board report is usually dry and not very engaging.
It's not all doom and gloom. With Whatagraph, it's possible to bring life into the pages of board reports. A good template and informative writing will help convey crucial information in a board meeting app. Example below:
In most basic terms, a formal board report is an information from several different departments or committees condensed into a short and quickly readable format. These reports become a part of the board meeting minutes and are kept as records. These records can be called upon at any time, especially if legal issues arise. This is the key reason why board reports should be reviewed by every member of the board of directors and its details not lost during the meeting.
Reports are usually prepared by the executive committees or the CEO of the company. The most important thing to remember is that the organisation's executive branch must report to the board. Hence, they are the ones preparing the report.
The board report can serve a lot of different purposes. Whether a committee or the CEO prepares it, the format and the size can vary depending on the information the report must reflect.
One of the purposes of a board report is to bring the board up to speed with what the executive director or board committees have been doing. The period is usually set at the interval at which the board meeting is held. So, it could be quarterly, every six months or even yearly. This report gives a chance for all board members to get in the loop and ask questions. Every board member is expected to be an active participant in the organisation.
If the board gives clear goals to the executive director or a committee, the report must reflect the work that has been done. The board must also recognise the efforts their employees put in to reach these objectives, and the report is there to showcase their work.
The executive director can open up the meeting, introducing the board report. After highlighting the most important aspects, reviewing the management's performance and drawing attention to glaring issues, the board members will be ready for a discussion. During this process, the board report will be a great document to fall back on when more information is needed or a quick summary of the situation.
To make the answer simple, here are the three facts you should keep in mind:
The crucial thing about the report to the board is clarity. Bring the most important aspects of the organisation's performance and issues to the very front. That is the segment of the report that gets read the most. Here's the information that you must include in a professional board report:
It takes much work to write a good board report. You rely not just on your skills but also those of your team. To make it easier, here are a few more things to keep in mind or to include in your report:
The most important aspect of writing the board report is to ask yourself: would you read it? If the answer is yes, you are on the right path.
Published on Mar 30, 2021
WRITTEN BY
Whatagraph teamThe Whatagraph blog team produces high-quality content on all things marketing: industry updates, how-to guides, and case studies.
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