A recent report from BNY Mellon Shareowner Services shows that shareholder meetings in the last proxy season are getting shorter and less elaborate, a trend it first noticed in 2010.

Based on its observations from 500 client meetings in the last season, the firm found more than 94 percent of their clients held their shareholder meetings in company offices, with almost 60 percent of them offering no refreshments or serving just beverages. In 2010, only 53 percent of their clients held meetings in their offices.

The durations of meetings have also been trimmed this year. 72 percent of meetings held were less than one hour, while the other 28 percent were concluded in two hours or less. At the same time, the firm saw shareholders attendance in those meetings continue to decline. 47 percent of companies allowed shareholders to attend the meeting, and 15 percent allowed one accompanying guest. A total of 38 percent of the companies still allow shareholders to bring an unlimited number of guests to the meetings.

“It appears that fewer companies are using the meeting as a marketing or public relations tool, and fewer shareholders are making the effort to attend the annual meeting,” it said in the report.

While this trend may not be significant, BNY Mellon says it leads to speculation that required in-person meetings may eventually be replaced by shareholder forums, the communication method that lauds the use of audio broadcast and Webcasts for shareholders to attend meetings virtually.

A controversial request by some investors in the last season was for companies to put in place “The Fifth Analyst Call” on corporate governance. Investors want companies to arrange conference calls that focus on corporate governance, allowing them direct access to have discussions with analysts about company strategy and financial performance at every quarter.

However, industry participants have raised concerns over the legitimacy of holding such calls and the possible violation of Regulation FD, which requires public disclosure of all information specific to the trading of companies' securities whenever there are discussions on the subject. Another concern is that the “by invitation” meeting chaired by an investor and with director participation could result in discussions other than on corporate governance issues and into areas which may violate securities regulations.