Despite the small proportion of shareholders attending general meetings, the Governance Institute’s Benchmarking Listed Company Secretarial Practice in Australia 2014 Report also found costs per shareholder have risen 38 per cent since 2011.
Medium-sized companies are also experiencing poor attendance rates, with just 0.3 per cent of shareholders turning up for the AGM.
The report also indicated that webcasting has plateaued, direct voting has stalled and 53 per cent of shareholders have no interest in receiving the annual report.
Governance Institute chief executive Tim Sheehy said anxious stakeholders have been waiting for the much anticipated Corporations and Markets Advisory Committee’s (CAMAC) report on the future of the AGM, for release later this year.
“CAMAC not only issued a discussion paper but also held roundtables with stakeholders on the future of the AGM, and the challenges of new ways of approaching a shareholder forum were robustly discussed over many months,” said Mr Sheehy.
“A forum is needed, but not the 19th century model that we have now.”
Mr Sheehy said it is unclear what will happen with the report, however, with work on the project being transferred to the Treasury following the abolishment of CAMAC in the federal Budget.
