Investor Relations

28INVESTOR RELATIONSClientsInformation RequestAssessmentValuationClientsFinancialMarketsInvestor RelationsCorporateCommunicationsBoard of DirectorsSupervisory BoardChief Executive OfficerChief Financial OfficerSuppliersSuppliersFigure 2.5 Capital Markets in the Role of Clients of Company Managementsupplier of intelligence about how the company is perceived and valued bythe investment community. The Investor Relations department ensures thatconsistency is maintained in all financial communications messages. Toachieve this, the Investor Relations team must consist of professionals whoare competent and legitimate, whether they are in-house or working on acontract basis. This team needs to have access to all of the information itdeems necessary to perform its task. It should be consulted as early on aspossible before any financial or strategic messages are sent out to audiencesit may not be directly reporting to: the board of directors, the audit committee,human resources handling employee share ownership schemes, thedomestic or international economic and financial press relations.The company’s management provides the IR department both with theresources it needs and with strategic and financial information. At the sametime, it is a “client” of the department, from which it receives informationabout how it is perceived by the financial market, about analyst forecastsand recommendations, and about changes in the shareholder base. Itis essential that the Investor Relations department head be permitted to givethe highest levels of management an objective view of market sentimenttoward the company.In particular, the head of Investor Relations will focus on the following:Establishing, internally, the central role of the Investor Relationsdepartment in the “customer–supplier” relationship between the listedcompany and financial markets. The person’s tasks will include, amongothers, the following:Coordinating internally the editorial content of the company’sfinancial and strategic vision;Institutionalizing the flow of information about investor perception;