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Governance practice · Practical guide
Meeting Minutes Approval Workflow: Draft to Official Record
Minutes become reliable through a controlled process, not because someone saved a document. Keep a visible boundary between provisional notes and the official approved record.
1. Assign clear authority
Identify the drafter, factual reviewer and person or body authorised to approve. These roles may differ. The organisation's governing rules determine whether approval happens at a subsequent meeting, by circulation or another method.
2. Label and control drafts
Date each draft and restrict circulation to appropriate reviewers. Do not publish an AI-assisted draft as an approved decision. Compare names, amounts, motions and dates against the original notes and any authorised supporting materials.
3. Record corrections transparently
Distinguish factual correction from retrospective rewriting. Keep version history and identify who requested material changes. If approval requires a formal motion, record that approval instead of silently replacing the file.
4. Protect the official version
Retain an approved copy with its source meeting and approval date. Prevent silent overwrites; where later amendments are permitted, retain the original and the authority for the amendment.
5. Link actions to approved sources
Connect each action and decision to its source meeting. Avoid treating a provisional draft as final institutional memory; the approved text is the authoritative starting point.
Worked example
Secretary prepares v1 → chair checks factual details → members review marked draft → corrections are logged → authorised approval recorded → approved version retained → action tracker reconciled.
Review checklist
- Approver is identified
- Draft status is visible
- Corrections are traceable
- Official record is protected
- Actions link to approved minutes
This is operational guidance, not jurisdiction-specific legal advice. Follow your own governing documents. SecretAIry demonstrates human-reviewed workflows with fictional sample records, not customer data.