Documents to be Prepared Before and After Meetings

Documents to be Prepared Before and After Meetings:

An official meeting is supported by several written documents. For the smooth functioning of a meeting, supporting documents must be prepared carefully. Usually, they are prepared by the Secretary, in consultation with the chairman. In small business units these documents are prepared by office manager himself.

The most essential documents needed to be prepared in connection with meeting are Notice, Agenda and Minutes. Of these, Notice and Agenda are prepared before the meeting and Minutes is prepared after the completion of meeting.

Before the Meetings

Notice Calling the Meeting:

When a meeting is to be conducted, a notice is required to be sent to all the members. A Notice is an intimation about the conduction of the meeting. Generally, it is typed or printed on the organizations’ letterhead and issued under proper authority. Notice of the meeting must include the following content.

·              The name of the organisation.

·              Day, date, and time.

·              Place of the meeting. i.e. the address and the specific room/hall

·              Purpose of the meeting and, if possible, the Agenda.

·              Date of circulation and conveners’/ secretary’s signature

Public companies and many registered voluntary organisations use a legal form of notice for general body meetings. The notice is accompanied by the agenda for the present meeting and the minutes of the previous meeting. The notice of the meeting must be sent well in advance. Usually, at least seven days’ notice should be given to all the members attending the meeting. If members are located at far away distances, a longer notice (i.e., at least 21 days’ notice) should be given.

Example: 1. Notice Calling Board Meeting:

Example: 2 Agenda of Board Meeting:

Agenda:

Agenda means things to be done. It is also called as business or order of business to be discussed during the meeting. According to Rajendra Pal and Korlahalli, “Agenda is document that outlines the contents of a forth coming meet”.

It is programme schedule of the meeting and prepared by convenor or secretary in consultation with chairperson and his approval and sent along with the notice of the meeting in order to enable the members to come prepare for discussion during the meeting. An agenda begins with the call to order meeting and ends with postponement of the meeting. It should cover the following.

·              Reading and approval of minutes of the last meet

·              Matters arising out of previous meet’s minutes

·              Apologies from absent members.

·              Condolences if any

·              Urgent and non-controversial items

·              Matters requiring closer discussion and debates

·              Any new, on-the-spot items with the approval of the chairman

·              Date of next meeting

·              Vote of thanks to the chairman.

Example : 1. Agenda of Annual General Meeting:

Example: 2 Agenda of Board Meeting:

Importance or necessities of Agenda:

The necessities or importances of agenda are follows:

·              As it is circulated in advance, it helps the member to come prepared for the meeting.

·              Since agenda has a set order, it help the chairperson to conduct the meeting smoothly.

·              It ensures that only matters relevant to that particular meeting are discussed.

·              It makes sure that every point is properly taken up for discussion.

·              Agenda facilitates the preparation of the minutes

After the Meeting:

Minutes:

Minutes is a record of the decisions taken at a formal meeting. All companies, statutory bodies, social organisations, associations and committees have to maintain a record of the meetings. As minutes are the official record of work done and decision taken at the meeting, it must be precise and clear. Once minutes are approved and signed, it can be even accepted by the court of law as evidence of the proceedings of meeting.

The main objective of minutes is to record, concisely and accurately, the essential work done at a meeting. The minutes of companies and statutory bodies are written in formal style.

Other organisations may write minutes in informal style. It should contain the following details.

·              The name of the organisation.

·              Day, date, time and place

·              Number in order (e.g. 33rd meeting of …….)

·              Names of chairperson and secretary

·              Names of members present

·              Names of the members absent.

·              Attendees by special invitation, e.g. auditor, caterer, banker, etc.,

·              Record of the transactions.

·              Signature of the secretary after approval of minutes by the chairman.

Meaning of E-form:

e- form is a electronic paper document generated from the computer. many companys are in the problem of reviewing their office documentation and ways of converting their use of data, forms and other paper based processes to electronic or digital online processes.

Some of e- forms used in connection with meetings or stated below: