https://boardroomsystems.net/board-meeting-checklist/

Board meeting preparation involves a lot of reading, taking notes, thinking/contemplating, and seeking out and asking for additional information. This increases the efficiency of the board and lets them spend more time focusing on the strategy, and less time on procedural issues. This also helps reduce the anxiety that directors experience when they attend meetings that are too long and full of information and don’t produce specific action steps.

The best way to prepare for a board of directors ‘ meeting is to go through the agenda ahead of time and pay attention to important items. Review the agenda of upcoming topics and prioritize each one according to importance, urgency and alignment with the organization’s strategic goals. To improve and finalize the top priority items, seek input from your board chair or CEO. Plan the agenda for the meeting to ensure that key issues are discussed first and in depth. This will enable the board to be able to leave the meeting with a clear understanding of the decisions that have to be made.

Also, ensure that you include updates on actions tasks that were set at the previous board meeting, and to verify that the needed information is being supplied by the presenters. It is also essential to verify whether all participants are able to access the meeting via phone, video or other online platforms. Distribute the board pack and agenda to all participants once they are finalized. The ideal time to send them out is a week in advance of the meeting so that participants have ample time to review and ask for changes.