Investor Relations

70INVESTOR RELATIONSIn conclusion, ignorance of the law being no excuse, listed companies areadvised to have their legal departments and IROs work together on a regularbasis to build awareness of legal obligations relating to Investor Relationsand to do the following:Update lists of insiders, which market authorities may request at anytime;Inform those included on the lists of the obligations applicable tothem;Rely exclusively on authorized spokespersons (top management, headof press or Investor Relations, in particular);Publish corporate disclosure guidelines and policy s to outside parties;Establish a code of conduct to be shared with companyrepresentatives;Prepare Q&A for communicating on sensitive issues, enabling all tobecome “company ambassadors” and provide information that is exactand in compliance with law.Companies are strongly advised to consult the legal documents made availableby market authorities and to prepare in advance for any regulatorychanges, knowing that these can be significant.All in all, be sure you master legal obligations well enough to go beyondthem and use this extra transparency lever as a differentiator.2.6. ANTICIPATING CHANGES ININVESTOR RELATIONSInvestor Relations should always thrive to provide the most honest picturepossible of the company and its outlook. It must change to reflect endogenousand exogenous factors, with correlations often existing between thelatter.2.6.1 Endogenous Factors Time elapsed since listing. In the run-up to an IPO, a companymust make a significant investment, on which it will capitalize in the followingyears, to establish its name and management’s reputation with financial