Tips for the AGM
Annual General Meetings (AGMs) are formal affairs where i’s need to be dotted and t’s crossed. As the name suggests, they are held annually to close out the business of the year, including presentation of financial accounts and the election of committee members.
AGMs are usually held within 5 months of the end of the financial year. For clubs using a financial year to 30th June, this means that the meeting must be held by the end of November.
Getting a Quorum. Make your AGM appealing!
Some clubs find it difficult to get enough people to attend an AGM and obtain a quorum (a quorum is attendance of usually 20% of eligible voting members). If there is not a quorum the meeting cannot commence. Having a small attendance at the AGM can also reduce the pool of people willing to nominate for committee positions.
The secret to a successful AGM is to hold it between other activities which are interesting, social and fun. This might include:
- Celebrating a local sportsperson who has progressed to State, National or International level as a special guest
- Having a “Thank you to Volunteers” function.
- Celebrating successful programs, achievements and significant events like increasing participation of women and girls, continuing all-abilities programs, hosting a Pride Cup round.
There are numerous events and celebrations that will attract members and interested parties to attend an AGM.
Aim to complete the AGM as quickly and efficiently as possible, noting that elections and constitution changes might take up some time. Publish the program well in advance to encourage people to attend and stay because it’s presented as an occasion worth attending.
Using Technology to Attend the AGM
Using technology to allow people to attend the AGM is a great idea. People attending online must be able to communicate effectively with people in the room. If everyone is attending online, they should all able to communicate with each other.
Any technology platform used must be able to manage the functions of the meeting, including conducting the election of committee members and voting on any motions.
Before commencing the AGM, technology needs to be tested and a backup plan developed if the technology running the meeting has any technical problems.
The AGM Agenda
The agenda usually contains the following elements
- Welcome (acknowledgement of country) and apologies.
- Minutes of previous AGM.
- President’s report.
- CEO’s report (if applicable).
- Presentation of Financial reports.
- Constitution amendments (if any).
- Election of Committee Members.
- Life Memberships (if any).
- Appointment of the Auditor for the next financial year (if applicable).
There is usually no general business item on the agenda but it can be included to encourage discussion amongst those who have given up their time to attend.
Who Attends AGMs and Has the Right to Vote
Attendees at AGMs include the committee members, registered members (including life members) and any guests who may be invited.
Only voting members may vote at AGMs. For most clubs the voting members are individuals and volunteers registered with the club, however there can be some grey areas. There can be confusion as to the voting rights of juniors and their parents. The constitution will need to be checked to confirm who is eligible to vote. Additionally, life members can attend AGMs and speak, but are generally not entitled to vote.
The Minutes of the Previous AGM
The minutes of the previous year’s AGM are presented for approval at the next year’s AGM. They are not presented at a committee meeting or any other general meeting.
It is uncommon to send draft minutes to those in attendance at the meeting. Rather, the draft minutes are sent with the notice of the next AGM. This gives everyone time to revise the draft minutes and then raise any missing items or error at the AGM itself.
The Annual Report
The AGM is the meeting at which the Annual Report and the Annual Financial Report are submitted to the membership for approval.
The Annual Report is a report for the previous year. For most organisations it will be for the period of 12 months from 1st July to 30th June which means by the time the AGM is held (by the end of November) much of the information is quite old.
The Annual Report serves a number of purposes. One is the formal record of the club, and the second can be used as a promotional tool. Keeping this in mind will help when choosing the images and language used in the report. Are they welcoming and inclusive and reflective of the whole clubs’ activities? Celebrating things like the successes of programs, new member cohorts and community engagement activities are good to showcase. Move away from a focus on the wins, losses and score cards.
There is no right or wrong formula to the preparation of an Annual Report but every effort should be made to make it as interesting and accessible as possible.
The annual report should contain, as a matter of record:
- The President/Chairman report.
- The Secretary/CEO report – sometimes it is appropriate for these two to be combined.
- Board members, including any changes in personnel during the period.
- Subcommittee and working group members.
- A summary of the strategic plan’s progress.
- Awards dinners and other social events with photos.
- Results from competitions.
- Programs and projects run by the club/association.
- Acknowledgement of sponsors and supporters.
- Anything else that is relevant to your club.
Annual Reports should be designed not only for the AGM, but also for distribution to stakeholders, friends, politicians, local councils, sponsors, potential sponsors, and people who didn’t attend the AGM.
Financial Reporting
All incorporated sporting clubs and associations need to submit annual financial statements with the state or territory incorporated associations regulator, usually within 30 days of the AGM being held. Each state or territory has a different regulator.
There are generally 2-3 different levels of certifying and approving financial accounts. For the smallest clubs, they can be prepared by the treasurer and signed off by the committee. The next stage for medium-sized clubs is for the accounts to be signed and verified by an accountant. The highest level of financial reporting for the larger clubs is to be verified by an auditor. You need to check the level of financial reporting required in your state or territory and make sure the submission of annual financial reports is up to date with the regulator.
Notice of AGM
The constitution will contain information on the time period in which notice of an AGM is to be given. The standard number of days is 21 or 28 but sometimes, it may be up to 45 days.
Notice periods are important and must be adhered to. They need to be sent out no less than the number of days specified. It doesn’t matter if the notice of meeting is sent ahead of the date, it must be sent by the date. Challenges to the validity of meetings can occur if the time schedule is not adhered to. If a challenge is successful, it may mean that the AGM needs to be held again.
To ensure that those compiling the paperwork for an AGM have enough time to receive and process the required information and documentation, a plan with prescribed dates will help.
Election of Committee Members at the AGM
One of the more demanding elements of the AGM is completing the election of committee members. There can be uncertainty about what is going to take place; planning ahead will help to get an understanding of:
- Which positions are due for election? Often, the whole committee is due for election each year, other times there might be 2-3 roles due for election.
- What are the intentions of those currently in committee positions, will they re-nominate or step aside? This can be difficult as some people may choose not to disclose their intentions whereas others are open to the idea. Discuss this as a committee and get a feel for what is likely to take place.
- Who is interested in joining the committee? It’s always a good idea to try and understand who might be interested in joining the committee. This could be people already helping out and involved with the club.
Positively promoting the committee, providing role descriptions, being open and inviting nominations from all sections of the club, will help to create a diverse committee membership.
Filling Skills Gaps
After an AGM has been held, the committee will know which positions have not filled and the number of appointed positions available. Does the committee have a range of skills, experiences, ethnic, gender and social backgrounds to best represent the diversity of the club and the community? Specific appointed positions can be used to meet gaps in skills and diversity.
Changing the Constitution at the AGM
Sometimes constitutions require change to bring them up to speed with evolving club practice, alignment to your sport’s integrity policies, or changes to law. In any case, the members need to approve these, either at the AGM or, if particularly urgent, at a Special General Meeting.
Constitution change takes time for a number of reasons. People don’t like change, they think the constitution works perfectly well, they don’t understand what the change is for or what it means.
Bearing this in mind, a committee needs to give themselves plenty of time to deal with and negotiate change. This might include getting independent people who know about drafting constitutions involved. They can manage the consultation process with stakeholders, objectors, interested parties and the disinterested ones, too.
Unless they have the required skills, it’s best not to rely on members of the committee to draft amendments.
Once the process is concluded, a motion or motions need to be put to the AGM to adopt the constitution.
The final draft, ideally in marked up form, ought to be sent out with the AGM papers (in accordance with the time limits set out in the constitution). This is accompanied by an explanatory memorandum going through each amendment one by one, giving the reason for the proposed change. This approach will give those who are interested time to make queries before the AGM helping the smooth adoption of the new and improved constitution at meeting time.
Assuming that a final version is accepted, a motion needs to be put to the meeting. A vote of 75% of those present and entitled to vote is required to pass the amendments or the adoption of a new constitution.
Mostly most people aren’t that interested in constitutions and more often than not, changes are adopted without any dissent, debate or dispute. Nonetheless it pays ensure that everyone possible is consulted in the lead up to the preparation of the final draft to avoid change being derailed at the meeting.