- Board packs are too big.
- Board packs are not prepared on a timely basis – board meetings should be within 10 working days of the period end.
- Too many board packs – because their are too many board meetings, 6 to 8 should suffice
- Board packs lack a board dashboard that gives a one page summary of the organisation’s direction of travel
- Board packs are not utilising board reporting software (paperless board meetings)
- Much of their content is operational (including reporting on KPIs that should be left to management) and thus lacks relevance to governance – board papers should report Key Result indicators
- Too much board reporting is backward looking – at least half of the content should be forward looking
- There is too much data and too little information – not enough analysis, poor graphics
- The purpose of individual reports are not clear – a good title would go a long way to sorting out the problem
- Papers are poorly written, poorly planned, poorly presented and contain errors – all board writers should receive training on layout, structure, Stephen Few’s rules on graphics, the need for planning content, writing style, quality assurance steps
Further reading There Is A Lot Wrong with Most Board Meeting
One-Page Finance Team Reporting Templates (90 page Whitepaper + electronic templates)
The Financial Controller and CFO’s Toolkit 3rd edition