A question has been received from Lance, in Port Elizabeth, a South African subscriber about the minutes of an AGM.
The minutes of the AGM are approved as an accurate record at the next AGM and this causes some confusion because some minute takers think, therefore, that they do not have to distribute the minutes until then – a year later! This is incorrect.
Even though the minutes don’t get approved until the next AGM, they should still be distributed or, at the very least, be made available on request, within a few days of the AGM of which they are the record.
The reason is that the members of the organisation require the minutes to implement the decisions which were made and since decisions at AGM’s are nearly always major involving things like policy, fees, major projects etc, the minutes need to be in the hands of the members as quickly as possible.
There is another major reason and that is that the AGM minutes will contain (or should contain) the year’s financial report and all members have the right to have a copy of the financial status of the organisation.
It is the case that the AGM minutes will probably need to be distributed just before the next AGM so that people have a copy to approve at the next AGM.
The next ordinary meeting approves the minutes of the last ordinary meeting, not the AGM, even though it may have been the most recent meeting.
Exactly the same applies to SGM’s – Special General Meetings.
David Julian Price
14 thoughts on “When should the minutes of an AGM be sent or made available?”
To which body ‘belongs’ the minutes of an AGM?
To the retiring committee or the new committee?
Can the new committee therefore rewrite the minutes to their own satisfaction if they dispute some items in them or must they await the next AGM to raise objection and propose their own version?
Our 2019 committee has significantly rewritten last years 2018 AGM minutes and threatened some members who object to this happening.
Thanks
The AGM minutes “belong” to the whole organisation – neither one or the other committee.
The only body that can alter the minutes is the membership at the next General Meeting – probably your AGM.
If the minutes were written properly, there should be no opportunity for them to be re-written – they are either accurate or not.
I hope this helps.
What if the minutes if previous AGM is not available with the next meeting?
There is not a lot you can do if they are not available. But the real issue is why they are not available. If they have simply been lost, then put in strategies to make sure it does not happen again.
If however, they have deliberately not been made available, then there are some questions to be asked.
Hi, In a monthly residents committee meeting in a retirement Village should the minutes of the meeting be available to the residents shortly after the meeting or not until after being confirmed at the following monthly meeting?
Regards
John
Thank you for your question John,
Many people would argue that the minutes should not be released until they have been confirmed and I can see the logic in that. However, I have a different view.
There are two elements. the first is that the minutes are rarely changed at the next meeting and if they are, it is usually for minor matters, and so why not release then as “unconfirmed minutes” to anyone who wants to see them.
The second is more important. You are all residents of the village and so you have a right (in my opinion) to see everything that the committee discusses unless there are confidential items regarding staffing or the like. My view therefore, is that the minutes should be available to every resident who is entitled to see them, whenever they request. To withhold them send a message of a lack of transparency, which cen led to suspicion and/or mistrust and that leads to conflict you don’t need to have.
I suggest that everything is available to everybody and that way you have total transparency.
HI SIR,
WHAT IF THE AGM MINUTES ARE NOT DISPALYED ON THE NOTICE BOARD WITHIN 28 DAYS, AS PER TO THE RULES OF STRATA MAANGEMNT ACT 757.
If your Strata Management Act requires the minutes to be placed on the notice board, then I suggest you formally write to the secretary and Chair and point out the clause in the Act that requires that.
Also you can see what penalties may apply for non-compliance with the Act and point those out.
What is the situation if the AGM minutes are in no way an accurate reflection of the actual meeting?
What if the actual meeting was recorded,but this recording was deleted by the managing agents within 24 hours of the meeting being held?
What if there is subsequently objections to the minutes as provided?
If the minutes are inaccurate, then the next AGM should not accept them and an accurate set should be created which is then put to the meeting. The problem is, AGM’s are a year apart so that makes it difficult to remember what happened.
If the recording was deleted there is not much you can do except move a motion at the next meeting g that recordings should not be deleted.
What if :Chairing of the meeting was a person other then the Chairperson of the Trustees?
also what if the ‘chairing of the meeting been taken by the representative of the Managing Agent, who usually is the secretary in such AGM.
Also what if such a ‘chairperson’ has to also answer to questions relating to the management of the body corporate(such a Chairperson was not nominated neither elected to chair the AGM)
Such a Chairperson was also lying/perjury to the members of the Body Corporate at the AGM.
All in a ZOOM meeting in which 1 member was muted
Wow Victor – too many issues there – It sounds you will need to get a legal opinion.
The simple answer is that the minutes should be available as soon after the meeting as possible, but they get signed by the chair of the next general meeting, whoever that may be.
Who should be signing the AGM Minutes? For example if the AGM occurred in Feb 2021 with the next AGM to occur 1 year later in Feb 2022 with the Committee nearly always comprising of different Volunteer Committee Members every year. Do the previous 2020 Committee Members sign the 2021 AGM minutes or the do the current 2021 Committee Members sign the 2021 AGM minutes that will be presented at the 2022 AGM? Hope this makes sense.
The minutes are signed by the chair of the meeting at which they are approved. So in your case, they will be signed by the chair of the February 2022 meeting. I know that sounds odd but if you are concerned, you could get the chair of the February 2021 meeting to note that they agree that they are accurate, bu the formal approval is the chair of the 2022 meeting.