Part of the role of an Investor Relations department or Company Secretary is to provide up-to-date information about a public company’s operations. This includes financial statements to current and potential shareholders, as well as third-party equity research analysts.
Duties of Investor Relations teams or Company Secretaries include taking responsibility for convening board meetings and other internal administrative matters. Another important role is the planning and organising of the company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM). Investor Relations departments can also be involved in holding quarterly results presentations to investors and analysts.
Planning ahead
Events like AGMs and Quarterly results presentations need careful planning – so some key factors need to be considered to ensure the timing works and the meeting is fully compliant with any regulations.
The following factors may come into play when organising an AGM:
- How much notice will you need to give ahead of the meeting taking place?
- Who needs to be told about the meeting?
- Does the notice of the AGM need to be sent to your members’ homes?
- Is there a specific number of attendees required for the meeting to make it official? (This is called the quorum)
- Is there a requirement for the company accounts to be independently examined (or audited) before the AGM?
- Can you take nominations for new committee members at the meeting or must they be taken in advance? (It is usual to have a proposer and seconder for each nomination)
- If anyone wants to propose an amendment to the constitution how much notice is required?
Useful checklist
To cover all the requirements for your AGM you should also consider the following:
- what information must be included in the AGM agenda, and how and when that information should be received and published
- what reports your board, chair, treasurer, auditor and EO need to provide at the AGM
- the process for appointing an auditor
- process and timeline for director and office bearer nominations
- who is eligible to vote
- voting process and announcements
As well as organising the meeting itself, it is also important to think about the venue.
- Is the venue accessible to all your members?
- Can it provide refreshments and other facilities such as break-out rooms?
- Does it have the necessary Audio-Visual requirements?
- Are you having the meeting recorded?
Answering all of these questions should help give a more accurate timeline when it comes to planning your next AGM to ensure all eventualities are catered for.
Booking your transcription service
We’ve spoken before about the importance of keeping a record of your AGM in our blog. It’s an excellent way to ensure total transparency – transcribing the event ensures a high degree of accuracy for future reference, especially when it comes to planning for the AGM the following year.
Getting the FSTL team on board for your AGM to create a transcript from the audio recording of the meeting means you will receive an accurate written transcript in a timely manner. If you haven’t yet arranged for your meeting to be recorded, the team are able to attend and record it for you using our state of the art, high quality recording equipment. Our team will then produce a professional transcript of the meeting within your timescale.
Get total peace of mind to cover the whole process by getting the FSTL team involved. Your Board will not only have an accurate record of exactly who said what at the AGM, but you’ll also have valuable content that can be re-used in the future. It may form part of additional reports, be an aid to marketing or assist with online content.
FSTl has been providing AGM transcription for 29 years. Its high demand means it’s formed an integral part of our transcription service, and will continue to do so for years to come.