More AGM agony

One of the questions asked was why wasnt the financial press invited to the meeting?

The answer to that lies within the Notice of AGM, ASX Corporate Governance Principles and Corporations Act;

The annual general meeting is the central forum by which companies can effectively communicate with shareholders, provide them with access to information about the company and corporate proposals, and enable their participation in decision-making.

Clearly the AGM is to be held by the company for the benefit of shareholders, who own the Company.

Another complaint or observation is that the Chairman is, at times, abrupt. In considering these comments it is worthwhile to reflect on the legal obligations of the Chairman;

commentary and case law make it clear that the chair's role and responsibilities are different from, and often greater than, those of other directors' because the role of Chairman 'brings with it additional rights and duties and additional opportunities which may affect the content of the role and warrant the imposition of higher standards and duties'.  

Report of the Royal Commission into the Failure of HIH Insurance 2003: Justice Neville Owen at 6.2.1.

Additional responsibilities of the Chairman are to ensure that meetings are held properly and comply with statutory requirements. This may even include an instruction as to how the meeting is to be recorded and the Chairman may further issue an instruction that all mobile phones and other recording devices not approved by the Chairman to be switched off during that meeting.

It is the Chairman's right and duty to eject all those persons who are in breach of the conditions of that meeting or who act in a manner to disrupt that meeting.

The recent decision in the James Hardie case gave Company officers further guidance and direction in to how best they may discharge their responsibilities and fulfil their obligations to the Company. ASIC regards the James Hardie decision as a landmark decision, in particular;

the findings illustrate that in making statements to the market, companies should carefully assess and check the veracity of those statements.

Ultimately it is the responsibity of the Chairman to check the veracity of each and every statement.

An AGM is a serious event requiring disciplined management and is not an appropriate venue for a PR stunt.