Reports

There are usually two reports delivered at an AGM. Both are important but the critical one is the Auditor's report.

Auditor's report
The Auditor makes an oral report to the meeting on the previous year's financial statements.

Now this is very important because the auditor is bound by the Act to answer all relevant questions about his audit of the financial statements.

I suggest that owners ask:
1.
Is the corporation paying all the monthly utility bills in full when they are due?
2.
Is the corporation paying any late payments for any unpaid bills.
3.
Ask the auditor to explain any parts of the financial statements that you do not understand.
4.
If you do not see it in the statements, ask the auditor if revenue for the rental of the amenities has been accounted for in the statements.
5.
If there is a listing called "meeting expenses" in the budget, ask the auditor to explain what items fall into this category. (This may be a line in the budget that gets buried in "Administration" in the financial statements.)

Re-appointing the auditor
After the auditor's report, the chair asks for a resolution to appoint the auditor for another one-year term. The motion requires a vote by a simple majority of the owners in attendance. (Rules #119-120)

It it odd that the owners must ratify the decision to hire the auditing firm but the owners do not conduct the job search to hire an accounting firm nor do they interview prospective accounting firms. Those functions are left for the board or management company to perform although the owners can requisition a meeting to remove the auditor and vote on a replacement.

Listen carefully at the AGM and you may hear the Chair asking for a motion to  re-appoint the auditor and have the board negotiate the auditor's renumeration. This motion usually passes without much thought.

This is too bad because at times the auditor has not acted in the best interests of the owners, but in the best interests of the board as he has hid serious financial irregularities and the true condition of the corporation's finances.

President's report
The president makes a report on the corporation's activities for the previous fiscal year. There is no motion made to the meeting to accept this report and usually few or no questions are allowed.

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