What happens at an annual shareholder meeting?

The chair confirms notice and quorum, shareholders vote on directors and other proposals, the inspector reports preliminary results, and management reports on the business and takes questions.

Are annual shareholder meetings required?

Most state corporate laws require an annual meeting to elect directors. In Delaware, for example, shareholders can ask a court to order one if none has been held for 13 months.

What should shareholder meeting minutes include?

The date, time and place, who presided and recorded, the quorum, each proposal with the vote result, questions raised and the time of adjournment.

AgendaLegalBoard & governance

Annual shareholder meeting

60 minutes 12 blocksFree Free template

A 60-minute annual meeting of shareholders in the usual order: notice and quorum, proposals and polls, preliminary results, the CEO's report and Q&A.

Use this template See inside

Free to use and to run live. No card needed.

60 min · 12 blocks, drawn to scale Fits exactly

Call to order and introduction of directors and officers, 3 minutes
Inspector of elections and proof of notice, 2 minutes
Report on quorum: shares present in person or by proxy, 2 minutes
Approval of the minutes of the last annual meeting, 2 minutes
Polls open, 1 minutes
Proposal 1: election of directors, 5 minutes
Proposal 2: ratification of the independent auditor, 3 minutes
Other proposals: say on pay and any shareholder proposals, 7 minutes
Polls close and the inspector's preliminary results, 3 minutes
CEO's report on the business, 15 minutes
Shareholder questions, 15 minutes
Adjournment, 2 minutes

+0′Call to order and introduction of directors and officers3 minInfo
+3′Inspector of elections and proof of noticeTip: The secretary confirms notice went out as the bylaws and state law require. Public companies generally must appoint an inspector of elections.2 minInfo
+5′Report on quorum: shares present in person or by proxy2 minInfo
+7′Approval of the minutes of the last annual meetingTip: Optional; many companies skip it. Check your bylaws.2 minDecide
+9′Polls openTip: Shareholder votes are counted by shares, through proxies and ballots handled by the inspector, not by phone votes.1 minInfo
+10′Proposal 1: election of directors5 minDecide
+15′Proposal 2: ratification of the independent auditor3 minDecide
+18′Other proposals: say on pay and any shareholder proposalsTip: Proponents of shareholder proposals present them within the time set by the meeting's rules of conduct.7 minDecide
+25′Polls close and the inspector's preliminary results3 minInfo
+28′CEO's report on the business15 minInfo
+43′Shareholder questionsWhat would you like to ask the board or management?Tip: Collect questions from people in the room and online in one place, group similar ones and answer the most-asked first.15 minBrainstorm
+58′Adjournment2 minWrap-up

In short

An annual shareholder meeting is a company's yearly meeting where shareholders elect directors and vote on proposals such as ratifying the auditor. This 60-minute agenda follows the usual order: proof of notice and quorum, the proposals and polls, preliminary results, the CEO's report and a Q&A with questions collected on phones.

Time: 60 minutes
Blocks: 12, formal business first
For: Public and private companies
Plan: Free

Updated October 4, 2026

What's inside

By the end of this meeting, shareholders elect directors and vote on each proposal, hear the CEO's report and get their questions answered. The full agenda is drawn to scale above: every block has its own timer when you run it live.

How to run it

1Send notice and proxy materials within the window your state law and bylaws set, and publish the rules of conduct.
2Run the formal business first, in the order of the proxy statement, then the CEO's report and Q&A.
3Leave vote counting to the inspector of elections, and use phones only to collect shareholder questions.
4Use the summary for the secretary's minutes, and file final vote results as required.
5Smaller private companies can often act by written consent instead of meeting, unless their charter says otherwise.

Questions people ask

What happens at an annual shareholder meeting?: The chair confirms notice and quorum, shareholders vote on directors and other proposals, the inspector reports preliminary results, and management reports on the business and takes questions.
Are annual shareholder meetings required?: Most state corporate laws require an annual meeting to elect directors. In Delaware, for example, shareholders can ask a court to order one if none has been held for 13 months.
What should shareholder meeting minutes include?: The date, time and place, who presided and recorded, the quorum, each proposal with the vote result, questions raised and the time of adjournment.

All agendas

Open it, make it yours, run it live.

Change anything in the editor. When you're ready, press Present: everyone joins with a scan and answers on their phone.

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Pro free for 14 days
No card needed
Guests never need an account

Use this template More agendas

AgendaLegalBoard & governance

Annual shareholder meeting

60 minutes 12 blocksFree Free template

A 60-minute annual meeting of shareholders in the usual order: notice and quorum, proposals and polls, preliminary results, the CEO's report and Q&A.

Use this template See inside

Free to use and to run live. No card needed.

60 min · 12 blocks, drawn to scale Fits exactly

Call to order and introduction of directors and officers, 3 minutes
Inspector of elections and proof of notice, 2 minutes
Report on quorum: shares present in person or by proxy, 2 minutes
Approval of the minutes of the last annual meeting, 2 minutes
Polls open, 1 minutes
Proposal 1: election of directors, 5 minutes
Proposal 2: ratification of the independent auditor, 3 minutes
Other proposals: say on pay and any shareholder proposals, 7 minutes
Polls close and the inspector's preliminary results, 3 minutes
CEO's report on the business, 15 minutes
Shareholder questions, 15 minutes
Adjournment, 2 minutes

+0′Call to order and introduction of directors and officers3 minInfo
+3′Inspector of elections and proof of noticeTip: The secretary confirms notice went out as the bylaws and state law require. Public companies generally must appoint an inspector of elections.2 minInfo
+5′Report on quorum: shares present in person or by proxy2 minInfo
+7′Approval of the minutes of the last annual meetingTip: Optional; many companies skip it. Check your bylaws.2 minDecide
+9′Polls openTip: Shareholder votes are counted by shares, through proxies and ballots handled by the inspector, not by phone votes.1 minInfo
+10′Proposal 1: election of directors5 minDecide
+15′Proposal 2: ratification of the independent auditor3 minDecide
+18′Other proposals: say on pay and any shareholder proposalsTip: Proponents of shareholder proposals present them within the time set by the meeting's rules of conduct.7 minDecide
+25′Polls close and the inspector's preliminary results3 minInfo
+28′CEO's report on the business15 minInfo
+43′Shareholder questionsWhat would you like to ask the board or management?Tip: Collect questions from people in the room and online in one place, group similar ones and answer the most-asked first.15 minBrainstorm
+58′Adjournment2 minWrap-up

In short

Time: 60 minutes
Blocks: 12, formal business first
For: Public and private companies
Plan: Free

Updated October 4, 2026

What's inside

How to run it

1Send notice and proxy materials within the window your state law and bylaws set, and publish the rules of conduct.
2Run the formal business first, in the order of the proxy statement, then the CEO's report and Q&A.
3Leave vote counting to the inspector of elections, and use phones only to collect shareholder questions.
4Use the summary for the secretary's minutes, and file final vote results as required.
5Smaller private companies can often act by written consent instead of meeting, unless their charter says otherwise.

Questions people ask

What happens at an annual shareholder meeting?: The chair confirms notice and quorum, shareholders vote on directors and other proposals, the inspector reports preliminary results, and management reports on the business and takes questions.
Are annual shareholder meetings required?: Most state corporate laws require an annual meeting to elect directors. In Delaware, for example, shareholders can ask a court to order one if none has been held for 13 months.
What should shareholder meeting minutes include?: The date, time and place, who presided and recorded, the quorum, each proposal with the vote result, questions raised and the time of adjournment.

All agendas

Open it, make it yours, run it live.

Change anything in the editor. When you're ready, press Present: everyone joins with a scan and answers on their phone.

Free forever
Pro free for 14 days
No card needed
Guests never need an account

Use this template More agendas

Annual shareholder meeting

What's inside

How to run it

Questions people ask

Goes well with

Open it, make it yours, run it live.

Annual shareholder meeting

What's inside

How to run it

Questions people ask

Goes well with

Open it, make it yours, run it live.