Board decision papers are written documents that help board members perform their oversight responsibilities and make informed decisions about company matters. They should be informative and concise with a concise summary and supporting annexes.
Considerations to assist directors in making the best decisions on the subject could include a discussion of alternatives analysis (such as methods like Six Thinking Hats), an overview of the key metrics, research data or operational context and competitive insights that provides a perspective, or even an illustration of the effects of each choice on the business. It is also helpful to illustrate how management made the most appropriate option. This could involve describing the various options that were considered, or a summary of the pros/cons for each, as as how the recommended approach performed on a variety of criteria.
Board documents should be free of jargon and legalese, with formal business writing style being used throughout to make the content relevant and easily accessible for every director. Utilizing graphs and charts helps to organize information and trends, and also break up large blocks of text. It’s also a good practice to read the paper to your peers or read them aloud to ensure that the main points are being communicated. If you need to clarify something, it’s best to solicit feedback or views from the board.
