The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has issued its guidance and thought leadership for listed companies on virtual meetings which have increasingly become a necessity for many businesses amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the NSE, meetings, whether of companies’ Boards of Directors, or of their Committees, or Management, are an essential aspect of the decision making process in companies, with firm roots in good corporate governance.
Therefore, “Members’ active participation at meetings is extremely important, and it is desirable, as it provides attendees with the opportunity to make enquiries, provide inputs and objective criticism, receive clarification, and be generally more informed, to guide decision making,” NSE said, noting concerns that stakeholders might have participating in virtual meetings.
NSE noted that in deciding whether to implement a virtual meeting, companies should take the interests of all relevant stakeholders into account.
Questions bordering on adequate technology to reach all stakeholders who wish to participate, plan in place to give equal opportunities to both in-person and online participants (in the case of a hybrid meeting), enabling meaningful engagement with relevant stakeholders, among others, must be answered ahead of such meetings, the bourse advised.
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It also said the Company Secretary, under the direction of the Board/committee Chairperson or the Chief Executive Officer, is responsible for convening and facilitating virtual meetings of the Board, Committee, or Management, respectively.
Key points to note, according to NSE are precise agenda for the meeting, external attendees, confirmation of attendance, engagement of attendees, timely distribution of meeting materials, equipment, support, information security and a dry run or rehearsal prior to the virtual meeting to confirm that all equipment are in good working order.
NSE said although teleconferencing, web-conferencing, video conferencing etc. are all tools which make virtual meetings possible, the successful use of these tools to achieve the desired outcomes requires planning and attention to detail.
As such, the Company Secretary should ensure that good technical support is available for meetings.
Accordingly, the Company Secretary should promptly notify the company’s technology team/personnel of the details of the virtual meeting (i.e., date and time), as well as the technology media to be used. An appropriate and practical means of contacting attendees and the technical team, i.e., phone number, text message, etc., should also be agreed upon in the event of any disruptions, and where technical assistance is required, NSE said.
The NSE in its report outlined five responsibilities of Company Secretaries in ensuring a smooth virtual meeting. It also outlined 16 responsibilities of Virtual Attendees to ensure they get the most out of such meeting, as well as the role Chairpersons play in ensuring a smoothly run and productive virtual meeting where all participants feel included and engaged.
NSE also gave its advice on matters like appearance and use of residential work spaces for meetings.
