Getting More Information on Your Investor Relations Page
July 31, 2008
Ask around as to what improvements you could make and you are likely to get the same answer regarding your Investor Relations page, give us more information. Of course, that is easier said than done. Sure you’ve got acres of files and terabytes worth of email, but what can you actually publish? With the current regulatory environment, other legal considerations, competitive issues and trade secrets, not to mention the efforts of the public relations and marketing departments, the information that gets put on the Investor Relations page needs to be carefully chosen and reviewed. So, then, the questions becomes how to get more information on the Investor Relations page in a reasonably quick fashion?
Pre-Approved Materials
Once good place to start is with the plethora of pre-approved materials that most companies already have available in other formats or locations. For example, many companies provide links to their SEC filings. While this is effective, it is not very user friendly as the SEC website is setup to be a repository with large amounts of data and not to be a user friendly experience. This is fine for analysts and other investment professionals, but what about Main Street investors?
Retail investors want much of the same information that is in a 10-Q filing, without the overhead of all the legally required breakdown. To this end, the Boeing website provides links to the company’s earnings press release and a Financial Presentation for those results.
The press release is often more helpful to retail level investors. Instead of wading through the standard format 10-Q, the investor can jump right into the numbers they find interesting. In addition, this type of release affords the company an opportunity to highlight positive information as well as explaining numbers that may appear troubling at first glance.
Even more user friendly is the Financial Presentation linked from Boeing’s IR page conveying many of the important numbers in graphical format. While hard core investors may snub such information as watered down, providing both the SEC filings and the more accessible items allows the Investor Relations page to service multiple levels of investors.
Since both of these items have been previously vetted through the proper channels for distribution to the public, placing copies on the Investor Relations website provides investors with some of the additional information they clamor for, while placing no extra burden on the approval process.
Other Approved Materials
In addition to publications, a way to view or listen to previously held conference calls can also be a solid method to increase the amount of information available on the Investor Relations page. Both retail investors and professional investors whose other responsibilities don’t allow them to listen to the call live will appreciate the quick and easy access to the replay. Of course, such links and subsequent playbacks require all the same disclosures of the original event, plus another which informs investors that the call is not live. However, such inclusion is relatively easy if the decision to provide such information occurs before the original call. Then, it is simply a matter of saving all the disclaimers and disclosures.
Another useful source of additional investor information are executive presentations to industry groups or trade shows. Technology companies in particular seem to use such events to give the public a taste of where the company is going. Obviously, some events are more tailored to specific audiences than they are the general public, but for those where the presentations have broad appeal, a look at the presentation materials or even a recording of the presentation itself can provide an investor with a look at company strategy. The email at Corporate Eye suggests that many investors are looking for just such a peek at company strategy. These presentations have also generally been approved by the necessary parties, so only minor additional disclosures should be necessary for their inclusion on the Investor Relations page.
Go Further
The above suggestions can help round out an anemic Investor Relations page, but they are by no means extraordinary. To move toward an outstanding Investor Relations page, look for what your company produces that is unique and fully approved by the legal and compliance departments. Does your company produce a newsletter for circulation among non-licensed professionals? Could such information find its way onto your site? How about non-confidential internal communications or certain press releases? Do any marketing materials or techniques belong on your Investor Relations page? While the Investor Relations page doesn’t sell your company’s products, it does sell your company’s prospects, and those are usually tied pretty closely to its products.
Show a little creativity and let others in your organization know that you would like to see whatever they produce that comes fully vetted. You’ll have to do a little sifting, but the reward could be a stronger Investor Relations page.
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Spirituality And Business Oh Really?
July 31, 2008
Yes really -
Dozens of companies — from Coca-Cola to Microsoft — are becoming more “faith-friendly” as they welcome the spirituality of their employees, allowing groups to meet for Bible study or to discuss business ethics with a religious twist. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta has a Christian Fellowship Group, and the management at Bear Stearns, a Wall Street finance house, endorses and funds a weekly Torah class. Faith at the office. Why not? USA Today, 07347456, JUL 30, 2007
The subject hit the mainstream press in 1999 with a cover story in BusinessWeek –
The article indicated that the “largest driver of this trend is the mounting evidence that spirituality minded programs in the workplace not only soothe workers’ psyches but also deliver improved productivity.” The magazine quoted one business professor as saying: “Spirituality could be the ultimate competitive advantage.”
Since publication of the article two developments that accelerated the movement toward workforce spirituality — new generations at work and the 9/11 tragedy. The new generations, to their credit, are not willing to sell their souls to the company. They want more meaning for their work and they are passionate about a balanced work/life.
9/11 caused a seminal change in workers priorities. It caused people reconsider their priorities and to focus on values, family, friends and faith. According to Dr. David W. Miller, Executive Director, Yale Center for Faith & Culture and an Assistant Professor (Adjunct) of Business Ethics at the school,spirituality-at-work movement is still in its early stages and companies are uncertain how to respond. This trend seems to have legs since Patricia Aburdene, futurist and author in her book, Megatrends 2010, she identifies “spirituality in business” as one of the top seven megatrends of the coming decade.
As might be expected, some entrepreneurs have responded to the trend and launched websites. Perhaps the most prominent is BeliefNet.
It is inclusive of every religion and is content rich. Inspirational readings, blogs, community and more all related to spiritual matters. I just don’t get how the horoscope fits in. Oh yes, there are ads. After all the site was funded by venture capitalists and was bought in 2007 by Fox Entertainment Group.
If you are looking for resources about applying spirituality visit Workplace Spirituality.
This is a non-commercial site but there are useful articles. A additional good site is Yale University Ethics and Spirituality in the Workplace. A worthy read is the first download from the Conference Board.
Now go out and get the Spirit.
Comparability in Sustainability Reporting
July 30, 2008
Take yourself back over 500 years to a market in the middle of any medieval town.
Farmer Giles is trying to sell his goats when along comes Farmer Bob. “How many goats will you give me for my woolly sheep?” he asks.
Farmer Giles strokes his chin. “Two,” he replies and the deal is done.
Then along comes Farmer Harold, leading a cart full of apples. “How many goats will you give me for my apples?” he asks.
Farmer Giles looks surprised. “Apples?!” he asks. “Yes, apples,” replies Farmer Harold. “You gave him two goats for his sheep, how many for my apples?”
Now Farmer Harold has a cunning plan. His wants to sell his cart of mouldy apples to Farmer Giles by pretending the mould is really some new form of wool.
However Farmer Bob gets there first. “Don’t be daft, you can’t compare apples to “pairs”, especially if it’s a cartload of apples and a pair of goats. Silly man!”
Thankfully, before the scene becomes too Pythonesque, a guard intervenes and the farmers all go their separate ways.
An Inadequate Approach
Although the trade system of barter has been largely replaced by the monetisation of goods and services, the principle of comparability is as relevant today as it’s ever been.
It is especially important from the point of view of both business consumers’ and stakeholders’. They need to be able to compare different products and services in order to determine which is best for them.
In the whimsical example above, two goats are roughly equivalent to one sheep because of the relative difference in wool yield each gives. Apples, on the other hand, don’t produce any wool (unless you’ve kept them for far too long…)
Similarly, making their good and services comparable in terms of sustainability is one of the greatest challenges facing companies today.
For instance, as reported in Pricking the Balloon of Corporate Hot Air, the top 500 companies in the world use 34 different methodologies to collate and verify their greenhouse gas emissions.
Not surprisingly, investors have branded this scatter-gun approach as “inadequate” and the WWF has called for “increased standardisation among industry sectors”.
A Principled Approach
However, there would not be an issue if all of these companies adopted the Institute for Social and Ethical AccountAbility’s AA1000 standard.
Key in this standard is the principle of comparability, which is defined as:
the ability to compare information on the organisation’s performance with previous periods, performance targets, or external benchmarks drawn from other organisations, statutory regulation or non-statutory norms.
This principle ensures that any sustainability report which meets the AA1000 Standard has had its key metrics examined to ensure they are comparable to other businesses.
In addition, the standard goes on to say:
if the indicators chosen … are unique to the organisation, comparability of performance with other organisations may not be possible
This means companies should engage with the wider community of their peers and other organisations in order to determine how their performance should be measured.
It also links very well to the principle of Materiality. In the AA1000, this requires that companies consider which indicators are normally used by other organisations operating within its sphere.
No more mouldy apples
Standards such as AA1000 are not a silver bullet and, as with all human activity, rules and standards can be circumvented by any concerted effort to distort appearances or withhold information.
However, as the concept of Collaborative Governance starts to take hold, many companies will start to realise that it is in their best interests to ensure that they can be directly compared to their competitors.
This is because if companies in the same sector report different indicators or use different methodologies, it will act as a lens and increase the perception that something is being concealed.
So, returning to the medieval market at the start, companies need to move to assure stakeholders that their sheep and goats are truly comparable and not mouldy apples in disguise.
If they don’t it will only breed distrust, which is unlikely to go down well with investors and regulators alike and could well lead to the intervention of more than just a friendly guard.
The New Corporate Brand Strategy
July 30, 2008
I read an article on Brandweek today about Unilever’s decision to sell its laundry care division in North America, which includes popular brands such as All, Snuggle, Wisk, Surf and Sunlight. According to Unilever’s spokesperson, Anita Larsen, the sale will allow Unilever to focus its efforts on growing its core brands. I can understand that much, but what concerned me as I read this article was the suggestion that Unilever’s decision is in line with a current trend of large corporations ditching brands that aren’t market leaders.
Apparently, the new strategy is this: if a brand leads the market, keep it. If a brand is second or lower in market share, get rid of it. Read more
Use Your Website to Promote Your Culture
July 29, 2008
Some of my posts touched on the importance of Corporate Cultures. Culture affects how employees behave. It also has an influence on how the company is perceived by external stakeholders. So making your Culture visible is imperative and an effective method is to simply use your website.
Some of the “Best Companies” lists published by magazines, consultants and other sources are useful sources of competitive intelligence to get started. However, “Best Company Cultures” ratings are virtually non-existent. I was able to find one in Canada. It is Waterstone Human Capital’s Canada’s 10 Most Admired Corporate CulturesTM . The 2007 winners are –
1. WESTJET AIRLINES LTD. www.westjet.com
2. FOUR SEASONS HOTELS INC. www.fourseasons.com
3. BOSTON PIZZA INTERNATIONAL. www.bostonpizza.com
4. ROYAL BANK OF CANADA. www.royalbank.com
5. YELLOW PAGES GROUP CO. www.ypg.com
6. MAPLE LEAF FOODS INC. www.mapleleaf.ca
7. MANULIFE FINANCIAL CO. www.manulife.com
8. PUROLATOR COURIER LTD. www.purolator.com
9. TIM HORTONS INC. www.timhortons.com
10.TORONTO DOMINION BANK FINANCIAL GROUP www.td.com
Step one would be to visit the websites of the top rated companies to get some ideas on how to organize your Culture section. Visit the top company, WESTJET and you will see the essential ingredients -
You need to post a short description of the Culture statement, mission vision and values. You could stop here but anything that reinforces these items should be included.
If you visit Toyota Motors, a company that appears on various “Best Company” lists, you find a more glitzy and subtle approach. TOYOTA MOTORS
There are some issues with the Toyota approach, the essential ingredients not as explicit as WESTJET. You have to search to find any mention of culture. I finally found a culture statement buried in Environment Section . Toyota has a good story to tell, they just need to flaunt it.
The lesson learned is that if you want to display your Corporate Culture, keep it focused and make it easily visible.