Investor Relations

146INVESTOR RELATIONSPresentations given by management may be supported by visuals thatcan be downloaded from the Web site or sent to participants ahead of time.They should notcontain any price-sensitive information not disclosed in the pressrelease;exceed 30 minutes.A script written for, approved, and rehearsed by management is an absoluteprerequisite, failing which management may well give a sense of improvisationthat will turn out to be counterproductive.Hereafter is a trusted method to draft the script and prepare for anearnings call:Review the period’s preliminary financial statements with corporatefinancial reporting, consolidation, and audit teams as well as withdivisional managers and assess the progress to be reported against internaland external expectations. Compare this information with that ofyour company’s publicly traded peers;Start developing messages and metrics from these analyses, with a particularemphasis on how to explain the period’s performance, strategicdevelopment, achievements as well as challenges;Draft and edit the earnings releases and the conference-call scripts forall management speakers;Design Webcast slide content that will match the information disclosedin the press release and support the script;List potential questions that may be raised during the conference call,as well as answers to them;Rehearse the conference call with the management team. When readingfrom a script, it is extremely difficult to deliver your speech to youraudience rather than just read it aloud. Management should be carefulnot to lapse into a monotonous recitation of speech. Appearing enthusiasticand energetic will engage the audience, while maintaining anupbeat tone over the air will efficiently convey confidence in the business.This is even more necessary if the call is delivered in a foreignlanguage.