Minutes of board meetings

Board meetings and the decisions made during these meetings may be determining for the effective functioning of a company. Clients are therefore reminded of the legal requirements relating to board meetings as stipulated in Article 73(6), (7) and (8) of the Companies Act 71 of 2008, which should be strictly adhered to.

The Act requires a company to keep minutes of meetings of the board and of any of the board’s committees, and that a majority of the directors must be present before a vote may be called at a meeting of the directors. Each resolution taken by the board and also any statement made by a board member must be recorded in the minutes. A board resolution takes effect on the date that the resolution is made unless another date of implementation is recorded in the resolution. Attention is drawn in particular to the requirement that resolutions must be dated and numbered sequentially.

Providing that a company’s Memorandum of Incorporation allows therefor, a board meeting may also be held by means of electronic communication, or one or more directors may participate in a meeting by means of electronic communication. This is conditional on the electronic communication facility enabling all participants in the meeting to communicate with each other without an intermediary.

Minutes of a meeting, or a resolution, signed by the chair of the board meeting or by the chair of the next meeting is evidence of the proceedings of that meeting or adoption of the particular resolution. It is therefore important that all minutes be signed and dated by the chairman before sending them to all relevant parties and filing them.

This article is a general information sheet and should not be used or relied upon as professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or ommissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information herein. Always contact your financial adviser for specific and detailed advice. Errors and omissions excepted (E&OE)