What Does a Secretary Do Before, During, and After Board Meetings?
We all know that a secretary, in general, has a lot of administrative tasks to do. This includes answering phone calls, answering emails, liaising with members of the board and other important people among others. But really, your main duty as a corporate secretary is to make sure that a board meeting runs smoothly. How so? By preparing for a meeting, taking notes during meetings, and briefing board members after meetings.
Preparing For a Meeting
Let us remember that a part of your duty is to schedule events such as corporate meetings. You can already pre-schedule those meetings and mark those meetings for a full year in a calendar. However, you may just adjust dates should any board member will not be available.
When scheduling a meeting, you have to make sure that every member of the board is present. This ensures that the meeting will have a smooth discussion.
You also have to make sure that important papers such as cash flows, previous minutes of the meeting, etc. are in place. Perhaps you can furnish each of the attendees a copy of the papers that will be relevant during the meeting.
Preparing the Agenda
You must also make sure that the meeting has an agenda. Again, because you schedule important events, you can include in your scheduling routine the agenda to be discussed for a whole year – with permission from your immediate boss.
Should there be any changes in the meeting agenda, this should be known by all who will meet – your boss, you, and all members of the board. Your boss should also make the new agenda as official.
Should there be anyone unavailable, this should also be reflected in your attendance sheet.
During the Meeting
Does the meeting require a slideshow presentation? Equipment should be ready if that’s the case. If a whiteboard is needed, then this should also be readied. Hence, it is your duty as a corporate secretary in the boardroom to check if those are on hand.
As the meeting progresses, there will surely be a discussion at hand. It is your duty as a corporate secretary in the boardroom to do the roll call for attendance checking. Further, you must the previous minutes of the meeting to have it approved by everyone. Of course, you’ll have to take the present minutes of the meeting as well.
What if there are resolutions or other decisions to be made during that time? It is your duty as a corporate secretary in the boardroom to take note who did what. You must take note who proposed a notion and who seconded. Did everyone agree, or is the proposal approved or not? This is important as well.
Wrapping Up the Meeting
After the meeting, it is expected that you had taken down notes thorough enough to contain important data needed for the next meeting. You should review these notes with the chairman after the meeting to have those approved.
Also, in case there are participants that said they will be taking action on something, it is easier if they will get a hard or soft copy of these reminders. This may not be required but certainly, doing so will make things easier for the next meeting just in case.
Conclusion
There you have it. The above are some of the duties of a corporate secretary in the boardroom. You are expected to:
- Prepare the agenda and important supporting papers.
- Copy furnish all attendees with the important supporting papers.
- Remind the board of the time, date, and place of the meeting.
- See to it that the venue and all equipment needed are present and available before the meeting starts.
After the meeting, you are also expected to review the current minutes of the meeting with your boss for approval.
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