Investor Relations

IMPLEMENTING BEST PRACTICES IN INVESTOR RELATIONS 1453.6.17 Conference CallsFirms are increasingly relying on conference calls as soon as importantissues arise: Earnings releases, strategic announcements, or accidents. Thistool has the following advantages: They enable companies to comment quickly on events after a pressrelease is issued and before an information meeting is held in the followingdays. This is particularly important in times of crisis management. Events can be explained instantly to audiences across all time zones.This, together with archiving systems, makes the conference call a factor inpromoting equal access to information and limits the number of incominginquiries.3.6.17.1 Making the best use of technologyToday, modern technology allows the IRO to do the following: Talk to several hundred people at the same time without noise levelsbecoming unmanageable. Know who is on the call and anticipate difficult questions in advance. Receive questions directly via e-mail. Control, to a large extent, the Q&A session. Indeed, the IRO canmanage the Q&A session more proactively and carefully, through conferencing‘host-control’ tools. The IRO will see a list of those requesting toask a question via a Web-based interface in advance of their introductionto the company. He or she then has the technical ability to bring forwardthe most important or relevant participants and push down or remove thosewho are less welcome. This is a very efficient way to ensure that conferencecalls are run smoothly and deliver the correct message, leaving theCEO or CFO confident and able to concentrate on the content of the call. Inany case, the Investor Relations team will have selected the conference-callvendor with maximum care and tested the selected system enough to havefull confidence in its strength. Don’t hesitate to have back up lines with theconference-call operator and proper equipment such as headsets if you feelmore comfortable that way. Provide transcripts, including of the Q&A sessions on the Web site.Replays increase overall attendance by giving people who could not participatein the live event a chance to take part later.3.6.17.2 Script and presentationA conference call is a rather formal exercise that requires professionalpreparation to achieve its goal in the Investor Relations strategy.