What are meeting minutes?

Meeting minutes are a formal written record capturing the key points discussed, decisions made, and actions agreed upon during a meeting. They serve several essential functions, including providing an official record for attendees and others who may need to understand what occurred during the meeting, facilitating accountability by noting who is responsible for various tasks, and ensuring that all participants are on the same page regarding what was discussed and decided. This documentation is crucial for following up on discussions in future meetings and safeguarding the organization's knowledge over time.

The other choices, while important in other contexts, do not accurately describe meeting minutes. Visual presentations of findings focus primarily on delivering information through graphics and slides, which is not the essence of meeting minutes. Summaries of project progress provide updates but lack the specificity and decision-making aspects of minutes. Comprehensive reports on financial status detail financial metrics and analyses rather than capturing the interactions and conclusions from a meeting. Therefore, the correct understanding of meeting minutes aligns closely with the description of them as written records of discussions and decisions made during a meeting.