In this episode we’re joined by Non Executive Director and esteemed Governance expert Julie Garland McLelland who shares her insights on how to document board meetings effectively.
Julie has served on a multitude of boards and her experience in the boardroom includes Chairing the board of an ASX listed business. She is also a frequent speaker at conferences and a prized reference for journalists, where her comments have featured in ABC News’ Nightly Business Report, The Business Programme, The Australian Financial Review, The Financial Times (Britain), Company Director Journal, Keeping Good Companies, and other quality publications.
Julie has more than 20 years’ experience delivering education programs for the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) including 14 courses that she has created. She has also developed and delivered director education for the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), Director Institute, Governance Institute of Australia, College of Laws, University of Sydney, CPA Australia, The Taiwan Corporate Governance Association, The Oman Centre for Corporate Governance and Sustainability, and Better Boards Ltd.
In this episode, Julie shares her ‘TRICCy” model for recording boardroom discussions and decisions. She provides practical advice on gathering necessary information, conducting research, and ensuring the content's accuracy, relevance, and quality.
By the end of this episode, you will have gained valuable insights, enabling you to create brilliant board papers that effectively support the decision-making process in your organisation.
WHAT YOU’LL DISCOVER IN THIS EPISODE:
- How to write minutes for an effective board meeting (04:00)
- Julie's great model to address tricky minutes (06:50)
- Controlling information flow and access to the minutes (12:40)
- Managing in-camera sessions to reduce anxiety in meetings (16:15)
- The legal side of writing board minutes (19:50)
- Dealing with conflicts with board members on recording minutes (25:30)
- Standing by your principles, ethics, and morals when writing minutes (30:32)
QUOTES
“Minutes are confidential, but they're not legally privileged.” -Julie Garland McLelland
“Your duty as a director doesn't absolve you from your duty to obey other laws.” -Julie Garland McLelland
“The last thing you want is for a regulator, or worse still, an opposing barrister, to read through your minutes and come to the conclusion that the board is inclined to occasionally fabricate the information” -Julie Garland McLelland
“The important thing to remember is once a decision is made, it is the board's decision. And even if you vote against it, and passionately did not want it, it's the board's decision” -Julie Garland McLelland
