5 costly board pack mistakes — and how to fix them

The board pack is one the board's primary sources of information and insight. It underpins every conversation, challenge, and decision that takes place in the boardroom. When it falls short, governance falls short — and with it, strategic execution, risk oversight, and organizational performance.

That’s not speculation. Research from Board Intelligence has found that poor quality information is one of the key factors affecting the speed, timeliness, and quality of board decision-making. In regulated sectors, it's also drawn attention from supervisors and raised questions about board effectiveness.

In contrast, an effective board pack gives directors the context, foresight, and confidence they need to challenge constructively and make high-quality decisions. It helps the board focus on what matters, navigate uncertainty, and drive long-term value.

That makes the board pack a high-leverage fix. Improve it, and you don’t just improve the meeting, you strengthen the board’s role as a strategic asset to the business.

This blog explores five common board pack mistakes that derail governance and how to avoid them.

In a rush? Scroll to the bottom of the page for a handy checklist to help you and your team deliver best practice board reports.

It’s common to overload board and management papers with data but leave out what matters most: the insight behind the numbers. Too many reports explain what happened but not why or what it means.

This puts pressure on directors to fill in the gaps themselves and leaves directors wondering why management aren’t thinking critically about the information they’re sharing.

Boards need to know how the business is performing, but also what’s next. A paper that only reports past KPIs isn’t enough to help boards balance their steering and supervising responsibilities.

Board packs are often bloated, weighing in at nearly 300 pages on average, according to Board Intelligence research. Directors typically have time to read only a few hours’ worth of content in advance of board meetings, which means key details can be missed.

Too often, executive summaries don’t explain why the paper matters or what the board needs to do about it. That means board members do not know why they are receiving each report, how much time to spend on it, or what to look out for as they prepare for the board meeting.

Strategy is a key part of any board’s mandate, but operationally-focused reporting can crowd out strategic topics. It’s difficult for boards to have effective strategic discussions if they are only given the high level conclusions. This is especially likely when there’s no long-term agenda plan to frame how the board should balance its time, and when short-term or urgent matters dominate board discussions.

We see these 5 mistakes repeatedly when we review board papers. Luckily, they are easily addressed. Keep reading for 5 simple steps to board pack success. 

Delivering a high-impact board paper comes down to 5 things: delivering insight, taking a forward-looking view, being concise, putting the key messages up front, and balancing strategy with operations. 

To esure they are delivering insight, and not just information for information's sake, board report authors should step into the board’s shoes, and highlight the context for their report, explore the drivers behind their observations, and address the likely future impact or implications.

Structured training and pre-draft briefings can help sharpen this focus and make reporting more relevant.

Effective reports should look ahead: What are the risks and opportunities on the horizon? What’s driving performance? How confident is the business in its delivery? Applying this mindset to board papers, and presenting them alongside high-quality KPI dashboards, turns governance into a proactive, strategic tool.

Limit each paper to 3–5 pages and require approval from the chair for anything longer. It forces clarity and ensures that what matters most doesn’t get buried. Encourage management to write concisely, keeping sentences short and avoiding overly complex or technical language. 

Read our guide to great business writing for more communication tips.

To deliver the insight the board needs, an executive summary should answer:

• Why is this paper on the agenda now?
• What’s the issue this paper addresses?
• What conclusions have management reached?
• What input is needed from the board?

Use a consistent summary template and write it first. It sets the direction for the rest of the paper, and is a great way to check that the brief has been properly understood before time is spent writing the body of the paper.

Fix this by taking a strategic approach to board agenda planning. Schedule strategic discussions 6–12 months in advance and place them early in the meeting agenda. Support each agenda item with a focused paper that frames the topic, outlines the options, and presents clear recommendations.

AI tools like Lucia from Board Intelligence help authors surface insights, fill gaps, and write concisely. When used alongside software tools like Agenda Planner, they can help boards focus their time and attention on the conversations and decisions that matter most to the organization.

Share insight, not just data

• Focus on what the data means, not just what it says

• Explain context, key drivers, and likely future impact: ask “why?” and “so what?”

Look forward

• Balance retrospective KPIs with forward-looking metrics

• Highlight emerging risks and opportunities

• Explore the implications: “what does this mean going forward?”

Keep it concise

• Prioritise relevance and clarity to avoid burying critical insights

• Enforce a 3–5 page limit for most papers, and require Chair approval for anything longer

• Keep sentences short and avoid overly complex language

Strengthen executive summaries

• Clearly state the issue, the conclusion, and required board input

• Use a consistent format and write the summary first

Make space for strategy

• Plan key strategic conversations 6–12 months in advance

• Put them high up on the agenda

• Support discussions with well-structured, forward-looking papers