Effective Minute Taking

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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) identifies governance as one of the 4 drivers of healthy organisational culture. One of the key ways in which firms may demonstrate effective governance is how they go about capturing and recording discussion, challenge, decision making and individual participation at Board and Executive Committee levels through the minutes of those meetings. Ensuring meetings are properly and accurately minuted is also essential when it comes to Senior Manager Function (SMF) holders, evidencing the ‘reasonable steps’ they take in order to fulfil their ‘Duty of Responsibility’.

And it’s not just the FCA saying this; the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) and many professional bodies also promote proper minute taking as being part and parcel of good business practice and effective corporate governance.

Unsurprisingly, those who have the responsibility for producing minutes have a vital role to play, so the importance of formal training cannot be underestimated, given that inexperience and lack of confidence can be a barrier to proving that internal governance arrangements are strong enough to withstand regulatory scrutiny.

This three hour interactive workshop will equip you with next steps to create and improve existing minute taking arrangements and improve the confidence of those tasked with this important role.

Key learning objectives

• Understand the regulatory importance of effective minute taking
• Raise awareness of the ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ in minute taking and what should and shouldn’t be included
• Consider how to challenge effectively
• Consider what actions need to be taken before and after the meeting, and how to access details afterwards
• Align consistency of approach across all meeting minutes

09:30 Minute taking – the regulatory requirements & good practice guidance

• The importance of good governance
• Guidance and highlighted good practice from regulators
• Good practice guidance from FRC and other bodies ICSA etc.
• Understand requirements of Companies Act for minutes
• Paying attention to Terms of Reference and the roles and responsibilities of committee members
• What might be reviewed if an FCA reviews your firm’s governance arrangements

10:15 Challenges and deciding on the best approach

• The ‘must haves’ in formal minutes
• Setting the right level of detail? Verbatim versus bulletin points
• Achieving consistency & the important influence of ‘house styles’
• Some basic ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ to take away and implement
• Hints and tips for getting it right
• The relationship between minute taker and the Chair
• Discuss current arrangements for post-meeting amendments and sign off procedures
• Accessing minutes – the when?, what? and how?

11:00 Break

11:10 Reflections on and questions arising from the pre-break sessions

• Group discussion – sharing good practice and listening to experience and activities of others

11:40 Reviewing some examples – the good, the bad and the ugly!

12:30 Conclusions and next steps

Mark Taylor

Mark Taylor is an independent trainer/coach who supports directors and senior management by delivering bespoke training on a range of subjects relevant to Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC).

Mark’s delivery style is thought-provoking with plenty of practical insights gained from an unusual and interesting career which has involved:

• Leading and supporting compliance/governance teams across different and countries and territories for over 30 years.  
• Holding senior Company Secretarial positions within public companies across various sectors.
• Chairing risk committees within the financial services sector
• Holding non Executive Director positions for non-profit entities including a large Multi Academy Trust

Mark understands the practical challenges faced when managing regulatory risks. His many experiences have given him a thirst to share his knowledge, particularly with people looking to enhance their approach to GRC and have an impact.

This training course is run under the Chatham House Rule, for reference please see here

Anyone responsible for minute taking and those who Chair meetings 

IA Member £395.00 +VAT
Non-Member £545.00 +VAT

Pay using a credit card online, or if you wish to be invoiced please email your full details to: Training@theia.org

PLEASE NOTE: Full payment for the course must be made prior to the course commencement date.

Any cancellation must be made in writing. For all cancellation received 15-30 days prior to the course start date, 50% of the course fee is still payable. No refund is given for a cancellation made 14 days or less prior to the commencement of a course. Transferring from one course to another is treated as a cancellation. You can substitute one delegate for another at no additional cost. In this instance, please give two business days’ notice.

Hybrid Training Courses:

Hybrid deliveries of our training allows participants on our courses the option to attend in-person here from our offices at Camomile Court, or you can attend virtually via MS Teams.

Please be advised a training course could change from hybrid delivery to solely virtual delivery. In such an event, we will inform delegates at least one week prior to the course delivery date.

There are a limited number of in-person spaces available on this course and this will be allocated on a first come first served basis.