The Personal Finance Society (PFS) has apologised after an error nullified the votes of 83 members at its annual general meeting on Monday (11 November).
The “human error”, by its third-party support provider Lumi, related to item three on the agenda, which was to re-elect Carla Brown as PFS president.
During the live voting, Lumi mistakenly gave members the option to vote for former PFS president Anthony Ward, who stood down in September, instead of Brown.
In an email sent to affected members, seen by Money Marketing, PFS chair Christine Elliott said she was “deeply sorry” to inform them that their vote had been voided.
She added: “It is with much regret that our third-party AGM support provider, Lumi, incorrectly entered Anthony Ward’s name for the voting that took place on the day of the AGM, instead of Carla Brown’s.”
She assured members that the removal of the 83 votes does not change the overall result reported at the AGM, as votes that were cast ahead of the day were not affected.
Brown received a total of 314 votes for and 50 votes against, meaning she will be reappointed as a member director of the PFS.
Elliott said the PFS board will reflect on its use of Lumi as its support provider, “as is normal after each AGM”.
“While I regret the need to inform you of this error, I hope you will appreciate the transparency,” she added.
“We will also be informing the wider membership of this matter in our regular PFS member newsletter next week.”
Lumi UK sales director Ben Riley said that it was due to “human error” that Ward’s name was displayed during the live voting session.
“This name was visible to voting members both in the room and online,” he said.
“We want to clarify that the correct name for item three – Carla Brown – was displayed throughout the proxy voting period, and all proxy votes were therefore accurately captured.
“However, although the name was changed for item three before the proxy voting period began, the result of that human error meant it was not subsequently updated within the system for the live voting phase.
“As a result, votes cast during the live session for item three have subsequently been marked as invalid, while the proxy votes remain correct and unaffected.”
He said the company “sincerely apologises” for this oversight and the “inconvenience it has caused”.
“We are implementing additional checks to prevent a recurrence in future meetings and to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the voting process.
“Thank you for your understanding and continued support.”
During the meeting, members voted down two motions.
A total of 232 members (56.7%) voted against item one: that the report and financial statements of the Society for the year ended 31 December 2023 be received and considered.
Meanwhile, 213 members (52.7%) voted against item two: that Crowe U.K. LLP be reappointed as auditors of the PFS for the financial year ending 31 December 2024 and that the directors be authorised to agree their remuneration.
The professional body announced today (15 November) that it will be writing to all members who voted against these two motions, to understand the reasons and take “appropriate actions”.
“It is particularly important to understand the reasons for the votes in relation to item two, as this vote renders the position of the 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,” it said.
“The PFS board intends to consider the information it receives at its board meeting on 4 December, to inform its next steps.
“The outcomes will be communicated to all members before Christmas.”
