AGM, the acronym that we come across often, yet not everyone is aware of its meaning.
Putting it simply, AGM stands for Annual General Meeting. It is an annual meeting done between the executive board members of a certain organisation to look back on the past year and switch executive boards for the coming year. It is a very structured and important event which is necessary for any organisation to function. Some members stay, others go, it is an exciting and sentimental period to the organisation!
So, now that you got the gist, what actually goes down during the AGM?
The administrative (annual) report is drawn up and read
This is a full rundown of the organisation’s performance throughout the past year. From events to content, to teambuilding; the pride and joy of the organisation are mentioned here. Aside from that, improvements from the past year and improvements planned for the following year are also mentioned.
The financial report is drawn up and read
This is read by the Financial Officer who gives a rundown of the expenses and income from the past year – where these costs were spent, where the income was from and whether finances were managed better or worse this year.
Motions and statuary amendments
The AGM is a chance for the organisation to make any desired changes to its statute. These may involve changes in roles, or just in general about how the organisation works. These changes can come from within the executive board itself or can be proposed as ‘motions’ by the members of the concerned organisation.
The executive board changes
Different individuals are nominated to take on the roles within the organisation. If there is more than one nomination per specific role, an election is held and the role is voted upon by the organisation’s members. In the case of only one nomination, the nominated person is elected to their position immediately.
Speeches from outgoing executive board
The AGM is typically a sentimental event for many of the organisation’s executive board since they look upon the previous year they have worked on as a team. For this reason, AGMs usually also feature tear-jerking speeches by the outgoing members, looking back on their experiences and wishing the new team the best of luck.
AGMs are usually taken place in a venue of the organisation’s choice but due to pandemic, most AGMs are being held completely online or streamed online.
And just like that, we came to the end of an AGM. If you are curious to see a visual representation of what we mentioned above, next Saturday we have our own AGM! We will be saying goodbye to familiar faces and introducing new ones.
