Many in your organization may view annual corporate meetings as a necessary evil. But the meetings can accomplish more "good" than you might think.

For starters, corporate meetings indicate that the company is a bona fide legal entity. Besides elections of officers and directors, meetings can be used for approving bonuses and other employee benefits as well as ratifying key actions. The corporate minutes outlining employee responsibilities may serve as the proof needed to deflect reasonable compensation challenges from the IRS.

The meetings can also be used to address loans being made to or from employees or shareholders. Any loans should be properly documented to indicate their legitimacy. Otherwise, loans may be viewed as disguised compensation or dividends.

Finally, corporate meetings can help establish reasons for accumulating earnings and a wide variety of other issues.

Reminder: Keeping accurate corporate minutes is critical. Make sure that this responsibility has been designated well in advance of any meeting.