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1. Formal meetings

Formal meetings are statutory. The rules of conduct of formal meetings are laid down
in a company’s Articles of Association and Standing Orders. With such meetings a
quorum must be present, i.e., the minimum number of people who should be present
in order to validate the meeting. A formal record of these meetings must be kept,
usually by the company secretary.

a. Annual General Meeting (AGM)
Annual general meeting is the general assembly of the shareholders at the end of
every fiscal year. AGMs are held once a year to assess the trading of the organization
over the year. All shareholders are invited to attend the AGM. For conducting
the meeting, the company should give 21 days prior notice to all its shareholders
mentioning the agenda to be discussed, venue, date and time of meeting. The notice
for the meeting must be published at least twice in national daily newspaper inviting
all the shareholders to attend the AGM. The Chairman of the company is responsible
to present the agenda of AGM.

b. Special General Meetings

Special general meetings are called so that the directors and shareholders can
communicate and consider special reports. It is conducted when any urgent matters
are to be discussed and the decisions are to be taken immediately. In order to conduct
such meeting, the company should provide 15 days prior notice to its shareholders
mentioning the details about the agenda of meeting, its venue, date and time.
Companies are required by law to hold these special general meetings.

c. Board meetings

Board meetings are held as often as individual organizations require. Board of
Directors are the representatives of the shareholders and they are responsible for the
day to day management of the company. The gathering of BOD in connection with
the business and the management of the company is called BOD meeting. They are
attended by all Directors and chaired by the Chairman of the Board.

2. Informal meetings

Informal meetings are non-statutory. They are organized voluntarily by the initiative
of managers, to assemble a group of employees who may need to discuss a specific
matter, report on progress and receive progress reports. For example, the marketing
manager, sales manager, production manager and research and development may
meet to discuss the launch of a new product.

These meetings are not restricted by the same rules and regulations as formal meetings.
Strict agendas may not be necessary and minutes may not be kept. However, it is
usually considered good business practice for an agenda to be issued to all members

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