Does your business keep up with Corporate Minutes?
Along with the many other things that a business owner needs to keep up with for their business, there is the need to keep up with the business Corporate Annual Minutes. Just as the name suggests, they should be kept up with once a year. Minutes are a legal paper trail way of showing the decisions the company made. Whether it be electing a new officer or many other decisions, the minutes help legally document what occurred. A lot of business owners think that they need only to file their annual registration with the Secretary of State each year to keep their business legal. Corporate Annual Minutes are needed in order to keep the business a legal entity as well. The Minutes are not required to be sent in to any agency, but are needed to be maintained in the business records.
Below are some basic items that are included in Corporate Annual Minutes.
Some Important Items In Corporate Minutes
- Company Name.
- Date & Time Of The Meeting.
- Directors & Shareholders Present For The Meeting.
- Corporate Actions Taken And Decisions Made At The Meeting.
- Date & Time Of The Next Meeting.
Under a Tax audit the Corporate Minutes could be requested from the IRS. There may be something on the tax return that they would want to see if the decision was properly documented and made to support the tax position taken. Having proper Minutes that support a tax position, certainly helps you out. Hopefully by reading this article it will get you thinking about your business Corporate Annual Minutes. Please contact us if you have any accounting, tax, or business needs and we would be happy to help you out.
****Although the list above shows the basics and should serve most business Minutes, you might want to consult with an attorney for major decisions to be sure they are documented properly as this article is not intended to be legal advice but to stress the importance of maintaining Minutes.****