Annual General Meeting
2024
The 2024 Annual General Meeting of the Personal Finance Society took place on Monday 11 November. Members were welcomed in person to the Midland Hotel, Manchester, and online.
The meeting was chaired by Christine Elliott, Chair of the PFS Board. Members heard from Carla Brown, PFS President, Daniel Williams, PFS Vice President, Matthew Hill, PFS Board member and CII Group Chief Executive, and Trevor Edwards, PFS Board member and CII Group Executive Director, Resources & People, who reported on the performance of the organisation in 2023.
Carla Brown, set out her Presidential theme for the coming year, which will have a focus on educating the public – and young people in particular – about the benefits of seeking professional financial advice, and bringing new talent into the profession. The President also took the opportunity to reflect on her predecessor’s term and to thank PFS volunteers across the UK for all that they do to support the Society.
Ordinary business that did not pass
At the meeting, Items 1 and 2 of ordinary business were not passed. The PFS Board wrote on Friday 15 November 2024 to those members who voted against these items to understand the reasons for their votes, so that appropriate action could be taken. The vote on Item 2 had rendered the position of auditor of the PFS as vacant, thereby triggering the need to appoint an auditor as soon as possible to allow the PFS to fulfil its requirement to file audited accounts in line with Companies House deadlines in 2025. The PFS Board said it intended to consider the information it received from members at its Board meeting on 4 December, to inform its next steps, and these would be communicated to all members before Christmas 2024.
Void votes
The PFS Board Chair, Christine Elliott, also wrote to 83 members on Friday 15 November 2024 to inform them that it was necessary to void their vote on Item 3, as the PFS’s third-party AGM support provider – LUMI – had incorrectly entered Anthony Ward’s name on this item for the voting that took place on the day of the AGM, instead of Carla Brown’s. Fortunately, the removal of these 83 votes did not change the overall result reported at the AGM, as votes that were cast ahead of the day were not affected by this error; a majority of those who voted did so in favour of Carla Brown being reappointed to the PFS Board. The confirmed vote for Item 3 was:
Item 3) Carla Brown, who retires by rotation is to be reappointed as a Member Director of the Society at this Annual General Meeting as approved by the Board of Directors.
Votes for: 314 86.3%
Votes against: 50 13.7%
Special business
Members reappointed Carla Brown to the PFS Board, and additionally appointed Christine Elliott as a Lay Director and Ben Wright as a Member Director of the Society.
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Recording & Q&A
The full recording of the 2024 Annual General Meeting, along with answers to all questions submitted before and during the AGM, can be viewed through the following links.
PFS AGM recording – 11 November 2024
Answers to questions - 29 November 2024
You can also find documents including the results of the votes and biographies of those elected, available via the links on this page.
PFS update on AGM vote outcomes (20 December 2024)
The PFS Board was pleased to receive 77 responses to its survey disseminated to those members who voted against Items 1 and 2 on Friday 15 November. The results were discussed at a meeting of the PFS Board on Wednesday 4 December and we agreed to seek some additional information that is relevant to informing our next steps. We will confirm the actions we are taking, and the basis for them, in the New Year. We wish all our members an enjoyable time, whether celebrating Christmas or having holidays.
Christine Elliott, PFS Board Chair
PFS update on AGM vote outcomes (27 January 2025)
The PFS Board began 2025 by addressing the outcomes of the AGM items that were voted against on 11 November. During our discussions on 23 January, we reviewed external legal advice to ensure our actions align with company law. The advice highlighted that the timing of the submission of the PFS’s Financial Statements to Companies House and the AGM created an unfortunate situation, rendering the member vote on Item 2 at the AGM void.
According to the Companies Act 2006, a company must appoint an auditor for each financial year within 28 days of submitting the accounts. This oversight occurred because we moved the AGM closer to our PFS National Conference to enhance member engagement. I am pleased to report that this change resulted in a higher number of member votes compared to previous years. However, this also led to Crowe UK being automatically reappointed as the PFS auditors for 2024 on 7 November.
Our recent discussions have, therefore, focused on how to reflect our members' views expressed at the AGM while acknowledging the current situation. After careful consideration, we have agreed to engage in a process to select auditors for 2025 and we will keep members updated on the outcome of this process.
Christine Elliott, PFS Board Chair
2023
The Personal Finance Society’s 2023 Annual General Meeting took place in person at etc venues Monument, 8 Eastcheap, London EC3M 1AE, and online on Tuesday, 19th September. Watch the full recording of the 2023 Annual General Meeting.
The meeting included a brief moderated Q&A session. Members were able to submit comments and questions to the Board in advance. The Board provided a response to questions submitted by members that it wasn't possible to answer during the AGM itself on 19 September. View the full Q&A here.
