Most AGMs bomb not because the organisation is failing but because the preparation wasn’t done. The wrong people didn’t know their roles. The constitution hadn’t been checked. The annual report was written the week before by one person. Other Business opened and the meeting went off-script for forty minutes. None of that has to happen. In this episode, the Kates use the theatrical metaphor to show that a great AGM is a production — and like all great productions, the work is almost entirely done before anyone in the audience takes their seat.
In This Episode
- The production schedule — why five months goes faster than you think, and why great AGMs start the moment the financial year closes
- The Production Manager (your Treasurer) — what they need to do before anyone sees the numbers, including prescribed association status and the mandatory independent audit threshold
- The Stage Manager (your Secretary) — the constitution as production bible, notices, quorum, nominations and what happens when the legal logistics go wrong
- The Programme (your Annual Report) — the centrepiece the audience takes home, why it deserves better than two pages of dense text, and what a great one looks like
- Nominations from the floor — why they’re a recipe for chaos and how to close the loophole in your constitution
- Opening night — the Chair’s job as Director, keeping pace, managing the critics and not allowing ad-libbing
- Other Business — not an agenda item, not a thing, and why a good chair doesn’t put it on the agenda, ask for it, or allow it
- What a five-star review looks like — and what a bad review looks like, and why bad reviews last
Free Download
An AGM Preparation Checklist from the Committee Companion — a production schedule you can use to work backwards from your AGM date. Download here!
Want to Go Further?
If your AGM could use some backstage support — or if there are other governance challenges you’d like a fresh pair of eyes on — that’s exactly the kind of work the Kates do through Kate Hartwig Consulting, Liquorice Allsorts, and Fresh Allsorts. Find out more at freshallsorts.com.au.
This Week’s Challenge
Pull out the minutes from your last AGM and ask three questions: Was quorum confirmed and recorded before business started? Were nominations closed and candidate statements in members’ hands before the night? Would a new member reading your annual report understand what your organisation achieved this past year? If the answer to any of those is no, start your next production schedule now. The AGM Preparation Checklist in the show notes is your starting point.
Got a Question for the Kates?
Use the contact form at thecommitteeroom.com.au. The Kates love a curly question — and there’s another Your Questions Answered episode coming up very soon.
About Your Hosts
Kate Hartwig has spent forty years working in and around not-for-profit and membership organisations — as a CEO, director, and independent consultant. Her Committee Companion is a head start on good governance with checklists, frameworks and exemplars for committee members. katehartwig.com.au
Kate McPhee has three decades of hands-on experience helping small clubs and associations get more done with less stress. She is the author of Just a Tick, a plain-English governance guide for committees and boards — including practical guidance on annual reports and AGMs. liquoriceallsorts.com.au
Together they offer governance health checks and practical support through Fresh Allsorts.
This podcast provides general information on best practice governance for small to medium not-for-profit associations. It is not legal advice.
Timestamps
00:03 — AGM disaster…
01:24 — Introducing the Kates and this episode on AGMs
02:33 — Your AGM production schedule
03:43 — Backstage crew
03:59 — The Treasurer — Production Manager
05:30 — The Treasurer’s report
06:25 — The Secretary — Stage Manager
08:11 — The governance team and the Annual Report
09:58 — Nominations from the floor — and why they’re a bad idea
11:46 — Opening night — your AGM
13:33 — Other Business — a lucky dip that’s seldom lucky
15:05 — How to get a five-star review — or not
16:27 — Recap
17:11 — This week’s challenge and next episode on Special General Meetings
Next Episode
Special General Meetings — what they are, when and why they can be called, how to call one properly, and what to do if disgruntled members call one against the committee.
Resources & Links
🎙️ The Committee Room thecommitteeroom.com.au — episode archive, show notes, downloads and contact form
🍬 Fresh Allsorts freshallsorts.com.au — Governance Health Checks and practical support from both Kates
Kate Hartwig Consulting katehartwig.com.au — including the Committee Companion, a head start on good governance with checklists, frameworks and exemplars
Liquorice Allsorts Consulting liquoriceallsorts.com.au — including Just a Tick, Kate McPhee’s plain-English governance guide
Facebook: The Committee Room
LinkedIn: The Committee Room
You don’t need good luck if you’ve got good governance.
The Committee Room | thecommitteeroom.com.au