1. Board packs are too big.
  2. Board packs are not prepared on a timely basis – board meetings should be within 10 working days of the period end.
  3. Too many board packs –  because their are too many board meetings, 6 to 8 should suffice
  4. Board packs lack a  board dashboard that gives a one page summary of the organisation’s direction of travel
  5. Board packs are not utilising board reporting software (paperless board meetings)
  6. 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
  7. Too much board reporting is backward looking – at least half of the content should be forward looking
  8. There is too much data and too little information – not  enough analysis, poor graphics
  9. The purpose of individual reports are not clear – a good title would go a long way to sorting out the problem
  10. 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

Key Performance Indicators 4th edition