28 Jan Controlling Committee Attendance

We often get asked about committee attendance. Who should be there? What happens if everybody is there (or not)? Which management should be in the meeting? As is often the case, the answer is “it depends”. For some, especially smaller boards, having all NEDs attend (or even be members) might make sense. For others, that’s neither desirable nor practical.
It might seem an easy decision. And sometimes full attendance happens by default, as non-members choose to attend to know what’s happening. But it’s not as straightforward as it seems. Whatever approach you land on, there are angles to consider and downsides to be managed.
In this month’s Bulletin, we take a wide-ranging look across the issues around committee meeting attendance – the best practices and the traps to be avoided.