Board Pack Preparation: Guide for Corporate Secretaries

Corporate secretaries work 50 hours per week, often feeling like sinking into meeting agendas, board reports, cover memos, and board packs. While overwhelming, this work can be optimized. Keep reading to learn how to prepare a board pack more effectively.

4 steps to prepare an effective board pack

Let’s dive deep into four steps of preparing effective board packs:

Planning and scheduling

Board pack preparation may take 4-6 weeks for most quarterly and annual meetings.

Timeline	Preparations
Week 1	Contact committees and departments. Request reports and set deadlines. Get all necessary reports by weeks 3-4 to reserve enough time for reviews and cover memos.
Week 3	Review and finalize necessary reports (financial, committee, CEO, etc). Prepare a board briefing material with charts and graphs.
Week 4	Coordinate with board directors and finalize the board meeting agenda. Compile all board meeting materials into distributable board packs. Circulate board backs 10-14 days before the meeting.

Gathering and organizing content

The board pack is a collection of materials for review in the upcoming meeting. It supports the meeting agenda and may contain the following documents (board pack contents and approaches vary across organizations):

Board meeting agenda
Previous meeting minutes
CEO report
Financial report
Committee reports
Report summaries (for long reports)
Supporting materials
Board correspondence

Here are steps to follow when requesting, gathering, and organizing board packs:

Make a board pack checklist. List all reports and supporting materials to facilitate board meeting preparation.
Contact relevant contributors. Send briefs to the CEO, committee chairs, and department heads. Set manageable due dates to reserve a week or two for finalizing board packs.

Reviewing and finalizing

The corporate secretary doesn’t review all board reports word by word but rather ensures general consistency and relevance. You can emphasize the following aspects while reviewing and finalizing board backs.

Relevance	Confirm that reports and supporting materials address relevant agenda items Make abridged versions with references for reports exceeding 20-30 pages
Style	Proofread spelling and grammar errors Ensure the uniformity of headings, fonts, and terms Ensure proper and relevant cross-referencing

Distributing the board pack

Some boards still manage physical board documentation. However, efficient organizations use digital board packs to have a competitive edge. Let’s quickly illustrate the advantages of digital vs hard board packs.

Criteria	Digital copies	Hard copies
Cost	Negligible expenses	Noticeable expenses
Effort	Minimal effort	Significant effort
Timely distribution	Ensure instant board pack distribution via board pack software	Doesn’t guarantee timely distribution due to printing, compiling, and delivery
Practicality	Digital packs are convenient to edit, share, and view	Paper copies are inconvenient when managing last-minute changes
Security	Digital copies are encrypted at rest and in transit	Paper copies can be easily lost or stolen

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6 best practices for board pack preparation

The following six practices will help you prepare effective board packs.

Best practices	Insights
Keep board packs concise and focused	Present only agenda-relevant info Follow the agenda order Use sections and subsections Remove duplicate information Agree on page limits
Use a clear and professional board pack format	Use sans-serif fonts, like Arial, Montserrat, or Garamond, for the utmost readability Use H1-H6 subheadings Apply consistent line and paragraph spacing Use left alignment and paragraph indents Use hyperlinks for referencing
Highlight key action points	Use bold and italics Use bullet points and numbered lists Use color to highlight important info
Use visual aids	Charts and graphs Infographics Tables Diagrams
Ensure security and confidentiality	Don’t distribute a board reporting package via email Apply access permissions Apply 256-bit encryption Use two-factor authentication
Update formats regularly	Use D&O questionnaires on the usability, readability, clarity, and relevance of board packs Track regulations Research best practices

2 common challenges when preparing board packs

Last-minute changes and information overload are the most common challenges corporate secretaries face when preparing for board meetings. Let’s explore these challenges in detail and offer a few solutions.

Last-minute changes and updates

If those last-minute alterations happen to hard copies, the best option is to use digital copies. But even with digital board packs, such changes can be highly stressful. Here are a few solutions on how to prepare a board package with last-minute changes:

Reserve extra time. Have 2-3 extra days between finalization and distribution for quick, minor edits.
Ensure prompt notifications. Use board reporting software with task workflows. This way, collaborators can receive real-time activity notifications and complete revisions quickly.

Managing large volumes of information

Board packs have become increasingly long and complicated, averaging 200 pages per pack. Some packs can be as long as 400 and even 1,000 pages.

While 74% of boards agree that board packs are too long, a few organizations do anything to optimize that when managing the board. The following approaches may help:

Perform a board packs review. Analyze which content is strategic vs operational. Calculate how much time and money you can save if you trim those long reports. Support your findings with metrics.
Raise the issue. Explain the benefits of shorter board packs to board directors, such as better engagement, higher strategic focus, and less information burden.
Set optimization targets. Begin tracking the length of board packs. Reduce the page count so that board directors are comfortable reading full materials.

Tools and resources for board pack preparation

Board portals are must-have tools for compiling and distributing a well-prepared board package. You can enjoy smooth preparations due to the following features:

✔️ Unlimited cloud storage. Store as many digital board packs, reports, and board materials as you need for as long as you need. Enjoy convenience and compliant record-keeping.

✔️ Strong data protection. Safeguard board packs with AES 256-bit data encryption, granular access permissions, and two-factor authentication.

✔️ Board-specific workflows. Create digital agendas with meeting minutes, assign tasks and deadlines, and skip manual board pack compilation. Distribute auto-generated board packs to board members in a few clicks inside the board portal.

✔️ System notifications. Enable activity notifications, including but not limited to tasks, deadlines, agendas, uploads, and document changes.

You can use a board pack template so you don’t have to recall which materials you need for the next meeting. Download a free board pack template with board pack examples to facilitate the consistency of materials and streamline meeting preparations.

Time to use the modern board management software!