What is a board pack, who creates it, and what should it contain?

It influences the quality of discussion at board meetings. The board will find helpful information to discuss in a good board pack. They will receive the pack in a timely fashion, at least a week before the board meeting.

As a CoSec, you must ensure the board packs you create are not ‘meandering novels’ of information. These packs should be concise with accurate information on critical KPIs. 

A good pack should also include supporting information so the board can assess performance against the strategic plan, the business plan and the budget.

As the CEO, one of the key responsibilities is reporting on the state of the business to the people appointed by the shareholders to run the company (i.e. the board). 

Board packs vary by organisation, but at a minimum, these topics need to be included:

• Review and approval of previous board minutes
• Updates on the business and key developments since the last board meeting by the CEO
• Financial reporting
• Products and service metrics
• Operations review
• Business development review
• Committee reports (if applicable)
• Strategic discussions (if appropriate)
• Calendar for the next month
• AOB

Typically you should have the following documents in a board pack:

• The agenda
• Minutes from previous meeting (to be approved)
• Business update
• Trading performance
• Market conditions and competitor news
• Progress with key initiatives
• Team news
• Product roadmap
• Accounts and KPIs
• Board papers on any special topics for discussion

To gain a deep understanding of the roles of the company secretary, such as administration, running board meetings, record keeping, execution of documents and advisory assistance, you can take the Corporate Governance Institute’s online course ‘The Effective Company Secretary’.