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iQuestions Faculty, Jack Herschend 
 
 
Question: 
 
How often should a board of directors meet? 
 
Answer:  
 
A board should meet approximately three times a year. It can vary 
somewhat—two to four—but if a board meets too often, the temptation 
to get into tactical issues is very, very great.  
 
If a board meets less than about three times a year, so much time has 
elapsed that the board spends an inordinate amount of their board 
meeting getting caught up with where they were the last time they 
met. 
 
So, to me the ideal number of board meetings is three, because it’s 
frequent enough to keep the board members up to speed, but it’s not 
so many board meetings that it tends to lead the board into tactical 
issues. The board of directors should be willing to meet with the 
leadership on specific issues on an individual basis, so that between 
meetings, if leadership needs feedback on a financial matter, the 
leadership, the CEO, should be able to call the board member that has 
the greatest financial expertise, and get his or her advice between 
board meetings.  
 
So, it isn’t as though nothing happens between board and leadership 
between meetings, but it should be on individual issues with individual 
board members between board meetings. 
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