Attending annual general meetings (AGMs) is an important part of my job. I meet directors, talk to shareholders and get a run-through of the company's plans for the coming year — and excuses about the previous one.

But their limitations were laid bare at this week's Crown Resorts meeting, held inside the company's flagship Melbourne casino.

Crown is under the gun. Profits have slumped 28 per cent as big-spending foreign guests, known as "whales" or VIPs (very important people) have stayed away, or lost less at the gambling tables.

The company is currently being investigated by three separate federal regulators, and the watchdogs in each state it has a physical presence in.

In New South Wales — where Crown's massive Barangaroo development is rising on Sydney Harbour — regulators are probing whether the person James Packer has sold his controlling stake to, Lawrence Ho, has business links to his controversial Macau gambling kingpin father, Stanley Ho.

Much of this has happened because the Nine Network aired explosive allegations that Crown was doing business with junket operators linked to Asian crime syndicates and failing to prevent money laundering.

On the 60 Minutes program, former Border Force boss Roman Quaedvlieg claimed two ministers and another member of parliament pressed him to fast-track visas for foreign Crown VIPs.

Crown hit back with full-page advertisements signed by every member of the board, blasting "unbalanced and sensationalised reporting … based on unsubstantiated allegations, exaggerations, unsupported connections and outright falsehoods".

So, you'd think there'd be plenty to talk about at the AGM and a good chance for the board to clear the air. Hardly.

The combative executive chair, John Alexander, batted away questions about the scandals, blaming "interests and activists" with an "anti-Crown agenda" for the issues.

"There have been a number of sensationalist and unproven claims made, with many focused on allegations from over five years ago. Let me be clear — Crown does not tolerate any illegal activity by its employees or its patrons," he said.

Only four shareholders asked questions. Two of them — Stephen Mayne and Tim Costello — hold the barest number of shares, simply to give them that privilege.

Crown executive chairman John Alexander batted away questions about the company's scandals. ( AAP: David Crosling )

Questions about whether the board had inquired into the revelations, beyond just assurances from management that things were fine, were given scant consideration.

Most came in the form of brief responses so repetitive it fuelled a brief debate about whether the board was "parroting" talking points rather than actually responding to queries.

Despite technology allowing you to talk on your phone in full video glory to friends in Budapest, Bendigo or Bogota — for free — there were no pictures from inside the meeting, no webcam, no recordings, just a shaky audio feed for registered users.

Mr Mayne asked: "Will there be a transcript?"

"No," was the quick answer from the executive chair.

To give Crown its due, they could have done less. Some AGMs deliberately restrict journalists — forcing them to buy shares to enter — or are held in expensive locations that cash-strapped news organisations can't afford to fly reporters to.

In fact, under the Corporations Act, there are remarkably few standards that must be met for a company's AGM.

It must be at least once in each calendar year, and be preceded by the financial report, director's report and auditor's report.

There's barely more scrutiny if you list on a stock exchange. Under ASX rules, directors face re-election every three years. At least one director must stand for election per year. That's it.

The power of institutional investors mean that AGMs are a bit of a show. Look at the numbers.

For the re-election of John Poynton, 510,206,390 votes had been cast before the meeting, as proxy votes. Five hundred million!

Shareholders in the room used a GameBoy-like device that allowed them to vote: Yes, No or Abstain.

They added 80,303 votes — moving the dial just 0.015 per cent.

Their vote counts, certainly, but when you add up the numbers you can see they were attending more for the free sandwiches afterwards than the chance to register a protest about scandals and poor financial performance.

Hearings into corruption allegations

The scrutiny will come anyway.

On Tuesday, for the first time in its history, the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity will hold hearings in public, into "allegations of corruption in interactions between the Department of Home Affairs and Crown Casino", meaning the fast-tracking of visas.

Commissioner Michael Griffin said the agency had only used private hearings in its 13-year history, but this time things were different.

"The matters raised by the Attorney-General in his referral to me, and the significant public interest in those matters, has led me to conclude that this particular investigation will be best served by hearing matters in public where appropriate," he said in a statement.

Anyone can walk into the County Court from Tuesday to listen.

Media will be allowed in first to get pictures and vision of the room and the Commissioner.

A transcript will be on its website at the end of each hearing day.

Mr Quaedvlieg will be the first witness in the box.

In the explosive 60 Minutes episode that drove the formation of these inquiries, the former boss of Border Force said he'd been asked to fast-track visas by two ministers and an MP.

If I was asking questions on Tuesday, in the inquiry's bubble of protected speech that allows witnesses to speak freely without fear of prosecution, I know what my first one would be — "Those names, please?".

Just another of many awkward days coming for Crown Resorts.

Maybe the public, and shareholders, will get the answers they couldn't get at the meeting.