Virtual AGM Polling at Its Finest

Virtual AGM – what is that? First of all, let’s break down ‘virtual’. It means anything that is not real. A meeting happening over video calls is virtual, while one happening in a physical conference hall is real. With the pandemic and lockdown still very much in effect across the globe, people have been preferring virtual reality more than actual reality because of mandatory and necessary norms of social distancing. Coming to AGM – it means an annual general meeting. This meeting can be conducted by any small organization as well as a multi-product billionaire company. It is generally about a company’s AGM.

What happens at an AGM?

An AGM happens once a year, as the name suggests. The year could be a calendar year, financial year, or any other year as defined by the respective company. It is compulsory for joint-stock companies (have shares that people can subscribe to) to conduct an AGM. At the AGM, the company invites the shareholders, announces its accomplished activities, other achievements, plans, dividend, and any other benefits for the shareholders. There are other things to discuss too. Some things are put to vote, and the shareholders are to vote on those issues. There are two ways through which votes will be counted: one person, one vote, or one share, one vote. Physical voting is now being replaced with virtual AGM polling.

Features of Virtual Polling:

Virtual voting is conducted conveniently through electronic devices. The conductor of the meeting can restrict certain attendees from voting. The question on which the poll is based can be hidden or shown to selective attendees/shareholders. The annual general meeting can have a time limit beyond which the voters’ votes will not be counted. The voting and counting are technology-based and real-time, thus leaving no scope for manipulation. All these features make this a better option available.

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