Minutes are used to record decisions made by directors and shareholders.

Minutes record decisions reached at meetings either of shareholders or of directors.

Small private companies rarely have occasion to convene meetings, especially if there is only one shareholder who is also the director. Once the company has been formed and the first meeting has been held, these occasions are usually limited to the signing of legal documents, loans to directors, the payment of dividends and accruals for salaries paid after the year end. ‘Paper meetings’ are usually held to authorise these transactions, with minutes being signed by the chairman after the event. These minutes must be kept for at least ten years from the date of the meeting.

Applications for bank accounts, known as bank mandates, are normally set out as board minutes and, if copies are kept, no further documentation is normally required.