Before Covid-19, Audio Visual arrangements for Annual General Meeting (AGM) were straightforward and simple. Now, it’s even more simple and straightforward with Virtual AGM arrangement.

Recall when you had to book for a venue, arrange for the AV, handouts, gifts, refreshments, transportations among many other things. Yes, they are not complicated tasks, however, the effort and time you have to spend are huge.

Virtual AGM in Singapore

Virtual Annual General Meeting became very popular due to Covid-19 during 2020. It has always been a physical meeting but now, most AGMs in Singapore are virtual and actually making everybody’s life easier. We can simplify the various Virtual AGM formats into two, Completely Virtual and On-site AGM (Hybrid AGM).

Completely Virtual AGM

Nobody might have thought of conducting an AGM from their living room but it is a new normal in 2021. The Chairman, the CEO, and Directors can all connect using their webcam-enabled devices from their homes for the AGM. The auditors, stockholders, and invited guests can all connect virtually from their homes or offices. This is very convenient and hassle-free for all stakeholders.

The risk or downside of going completely virtual is the internet connectivity issues and unforeseen technical problems during the proceeding, but again, most of these problems can be mitigated by doing rehearsals and technical checks well beforehand.

Both formats involve an online platform (video communications platform) where all the stakeholders connect at the scheduled time. Think about the physical AGM where we have speakers on stage (Directors), the audience at their seats, and the organizing team behind the curtains. It is pretty much the same here only that everyone is now behind their laptops at their homes.

The directors have the ability to turn on their video and microphone, talk to other directors in the meeting well before the start of the virtual proceeding. The audience, on the other hand, will only be able to view the meeting as a live stream or a webcast. However, the audience may be able to submit questions or even participate in electronic voting.

On-Site AGM (Hybrid AGM)

Practically, AGM arrangements are most of the time hybrid since the main speakers, the Chairman and the CEO are on-site at a venue (such as a meeting room in your office) with a professional camera and audio arrangement while other directors join remotely from their offices or homes.

There are endless possibilities of how you set up the live video production at the venue. You’ll just need video camera(s), microphone(s), and a PA System if you have so many directors to be on stage at the venue. Such audiovisual arrangements are all covered by the on-site crew ensuring the proceeding is all smooth and professional without any issue.

We’ve mentioned that internet connectivity is critical for virtual events, it also applies to hybrid events as well. This is why site recce and connectivity tests are always crucial. There should always be at least 1 rehearsal or dry-run before the actual event.

To sum up, virtual AGMs are a new norm nowadays and the good thing is it’s very simple and straightforward if you use the correct teams and the right tools & services.

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