diff --git a/docs/source/corda-configuration-file.rst b/docs/source/corda-configuration-file.rst
index 3a2aab3827..ce4ea72763 100644
--- a/docs/source/corda-configuration-file.rst
+++ b/docs/source/corda-configuration-file.rst
@@ -36,6 +36,10 @@ This prevents configuration errors when mixing keys containing ``.`` wrapped wit
 By default the node will fail to start in presence of unknown property keys.
 To alter this behaviour, the ``on-unknown-config-keys`` command-line argument can be set to ``IGNORE`` (default is ``FAIL``).
 
+.. note:: As noted in the HOCON documentation, the default behaviour for resources referenced within a config file is to silently
+   ignore them if missing. Therefore it is strongly recommended to utilise the ``required`` syntax for includes. See HOCON documentation
+   for more information.
+
 Overriding configuration values
 -------------------------------
 
diff --git a/node/src/main/kotlin/net/corda/node/NodeCmdLineOptions.kt b/node/src/main/kotlin/net/corda/node/NodeCmdLineOptions.kt
index d3016b08a6..e3fff7d216 100644
--- a/node/src/main/kotlin/net/corda/node/NodeCmdLineOptions.kt
+++ b/node/src/main/kotlin/net/corda/node/NodeCmdLineOptions.kt
@@ -74,15 +74,16 @@ open class SharedNodeCmdLineOptions {
         }
         errors.forEach { error ->
             when (error) {
-                is ConfigException.IO -> logger.error(configFileNotFoundMessage(configFile))
+                is ConfigException.IO -> logger.error(configFileNotFoundMessage(configFile, error.cause))
                 else -> logger.error(error.message)
             }
         }
     }
 
-    private fun configFileNotFoundMessage(configFile: Path): String {
+    private fun configFileNotFoundMessage(configFile: Path, cause: Throwable?): String {
         return """
                 Unable to load the node config file from '$configFile'.
+                ${cause?.message?.let { "Cause: $it" } ?: ""}
 
                 Try setting the --base-directory flag to change which directory the node
                 is looking in, or use the --config-file flag to specify it explicitly.