AGM Season Heats Up

According to the Australian Institute of Corporate Directors, four key themes emerged during last AGM season: director accountability, diversity, hybrid remuneration and activist resolutions.

"Hybrid remuneration frameworks (which combine bonus and long-term equity incentives and put them in play over a much longer period) help boards address shareholder preferences for longer-term incentive measures, but also allow them to avoid scrutiny of annual bonuses," says Michael Chandler, director of corporate governance at Morrow Sodali Australia.

Commenting on activist climate-change resolutions, Chandler said: "The release of reporting requirements, particularly on climate change, is helping to drive the resolutions. One resolution called for Origin Energy to implement the recommendations of the Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), which was published in June. However, big shareholders failed to back the resolutions, no proxy adviser groups supported the activist resolutions and the proposals were soundly defeated because shareholders understood the need to comply with standards such as the TCFD."

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