Annual General Meetings and proxy season planning

Establishing a critical path for decisions and deliverables leading up to your annual general meeting reduces the risk that an overlooked step will prevent your AGM from proceeding. Scrambling to prepare for your AGM or having to reschedule it due to inadequate planning damages your corporate reputation and affects stakeholder confidence.

I can prepare a clear work plan detailing the essential steps required by the board, management, constating documents, the Canadian Depository for Securities and your transfer agent so that regulatory deadlines are met for filings and mailings, materials are drafted and circulated for comment by management and board members. Once your organization has a work plan established for the annual general meeting process, it can be simply updated annually.

My specialty is project managing the “proxy season” and I can implement your work plan, providing regular status reports, highlighting action items, decision points and risks. I can also work with your management team and legal counsel to establish the agenda for the annual general meeting and liaise with proxy advisory services firms to establish and report on shareholder support for your agenda items.

Without this strategic coordination for your annual general meeting, your board cannot have the confidence it needs to be sure that it is fulfilling its responsibilities. A successful annual general meeting is the result of relentless planning and coordination that starts many months in advance.