The Director's Guide to Meetings Governance (ONLINE EVENT: November 6, 2026)

Course overview

This training course provides a practical and governance-led approach to meeting management, focusing on how directors and governance professionals can ensure that meetings are effective, decisions are robust, and minutes provide appropriate legal protection.

Moving beyond basic minute-taking, the course examines the governance value of minutes as formal corporate records, and their role in evidencing director decision-making under the Companies Act 2006 and the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023. Participants will explore when minutes act as a safeguard - and when poor drafting can expose directors and organisations to risk.

The programme develops a clear understanding of meeting structures, roles and legal obligations, including quorum, conflicts of interest and the distinct responsibilities of the chair, company secretary, and minute-taker. Particular emphasis is placed on correctly recording conflicts and decisions, and the potential consequences where governance processes are not properly documented.

Participants will learn how to produce clear, decision-focused minutes that demonstrate the exercise of independent judgement, capture key reasoning and support accountability. Practical frameworks such as structured decision recording and action tracking will be introduced to ensure that decisions are not only recorded but followed through effectively.

The course also addresses modern developments in meeting governance, including the use of AI and transcription tools, data protection considerations, and the need for robust human oversight. Participants will gain a realistic understanding of how technology can support - but not replace - effective minute-taking.

In addition, the programme covers end-to-end meeting management, from agenda design through to post-meeting follow-up, showing how well-structured meetings lead to better decisions, clearer accountability, and measurable organisational efficiency.

By the end of the course, participants will be equipped with practical techniques, governance frameworks, and drafting approaches that enable them to produce minutes that are clear, defensible, and aligned with best practice - ultimately supporting better-run meetings, stronger governance, and reduced organisational risk.

CPD Hours: 3

Course Content

Day 1
- The governance value of minutes
- Roles, meeting types, and governance obligations
- AI, technology, and the future of meeting records
- Decision-making and the minutes that capture it
- Meeting management: before, during and after
- Q&A

Speakers

Russell Shackleton

Russell Shackleton, CIA, CFE, MBA, FRSA, is a risk management and corporate governance expert consultant and trainer. He is an experienced advisor to Boards and sub-committees, and a tutor on the Financial Times Non-Executive Director programme.

He is an accomplished change agent and strategic thinker, as well as a civil and commercial mediator. He has an Executive MBA from Henley Business School and is a governance specialist with the FT Non-Executive Director Diploma.

Russell applies his operational experience allied with strategic thinking, exemplary leadership and team working skills to help businesses bring a structured change that is pragmatic, sustainable, and meets the needs and cultural fit of their organisation. He is passionate about empowering groups to achieve more than their component parts through effective stakeholder engagement and collaboration.

He has worked with many industries across the world, including manufacturing, FMCG, retail, automotive, supply chain logistics, food production/services, construction, textiles, engineering, infrastructure, energy, warehousing, transport, and charities.

Now based in the UK, he continues to serve organisations with an international footprint, culture or supply chain, both as an consultant / trainer or a Non-Executive Director and maintain those connections and knowledge. He speaks English and French.