The Role of the Investor Relations Officer

Introduction

Investor Relations (IR) is the communication of market intelligence between a company and the investment community, by which the company and its investing stakeholders share information and describe the investment proposition of the company. IR is a critical part of corporate strategic management, having a direct impact on the company’s ability to present itself within an environment of rapidly increasing information, and to compete for investment resources. Many IR practitioners are multidisciplinary professionals combining finance, communication, marketing, and legal skills. This course will provide knowledge in the essential areas of understanding the role of IR and its impact on the management function, IR regulations and compliance, investor targeting, best practice annual reporting, Shareholders' rights and responsibilities, disaster management, and building the brand value. This course covers case-studies from the GCC.

Objectives

By the end of this training course, you will be able to:

• Determine and promote best practice in Investor Relations (IR)
• Structure and implement a strategic IR program
• Disseminate messages to the investment community effectively
• Maximize IR's Role in Corporate Governance
• Manage IR dilemmas, crisis management, and regulatory change efficiently

Training Methodology

This is an interactive course. There will be open question and answer sessions, regular group exercises and activities, videos, case studies, and presentations on best practices. Participants will have the opportunity to share with the facilitator and other participants on what works well and not so well for them, as well as work on issues from their own organizations. The online course is conducted online using MS-Teams/ClickMeeting.

Who Should Attend?

• CEOs, CFOs, Managing Directors, Board Members, Boards of Directors
• Investors/Shareholders
• Board Secretaries
• Financial Communications, PR, Internal Communications, Corporate Communications professionals
• Corporate, financial, and investment personnel from all listed companies on stock exchanges/financial markets
• Fund Managers and Directors from investment management firms and securities research organizations
• Corporate Governance, CSR and Compliance professionals

Course Outline

Finance & Accounting: Finance and Accounting make up 40% of the program content.

Accounting & finance supplemental workshop

• Debits & credits

• Time value of money

Financial statement analysis

• Income statements

• Balance sheets

• Cash flow statements

Financial ratio analysis

• Liquidity metrics

• Resource management metrics

• Capacity metrics

• Profitability metrics

• Differences across sectors

Understanding annual reports

• Financial reporting regulations

• Management discussion & analysis

• Annual report case study

Corporate finance & capital structure

• Bonds

• Stocks

• Cost of capital

• Debt-equity mix

Business valuation

• Book value versus market value

• Capitalized earnings approaches

• Multiples & comparables

• Discounted cash flow

Capital raising, mergers & acquisitions

• IPOs, SEOs, recapitalization

• Merger & acquisition activity

• Spin-offs & reorganization

• Cross-listings

Understanding analyst research reports

• Research report case study

• Financial forecasting

• Drivers of growth & risk

• Earnings guidance

• How IR can develop models

Integrative case study & presentation

• "Investor day" role-play and case study

Capital Markets & Regulation

Capital Markets and Regulation makes up 20% of the program content.

Capital markets

• Capital markets: trading

• Market efficiency: concepts & evidence

• Pricing models

• Behavioral finance: concepts & implications

Regulation: disclosure

• Corporate disclosure policies

• Materiality & how to determine it

• Compensation use & disclosure

• Say-on-pay issues

• Shareholder engagement

Regulation: securities law

• Security law related to debt issues, equity & share buybacks

• Transfer agent duties

• Stock exchange rules, M&A rules, Proxy voting

• Competition law, anti-competitive behavior & IR potential pitfalls

Ethics

• CIRI code of ethics

• Ethics case studies

Communications: Communications make up 20% of the program content.

Effective IR presentations

• Telling the company's story through a variety of media

• Presenting & reporting to the Board

• Effective IR presentations peer "workshop"

Crisis management

• Media & investor relations during a crisis

Additional IR communication tools

• Using communication tools such as websites, lists of FAQ's, press releases, conference calls, and social media tools

Strategy: Corporate strategy

• Understanding corporate strategy

• Board of the director role

• Board engagement

IR strategy

• Key steps in developing an IR strategy

• Design IR programs

• Identify an existing and an ideal shareholder base

• Develop IR reports

Assessing Competition

• Competitive landscape

• Core competencies

Shareholder Activism

• Shareholders & competitors

• Annual meetings during the crisis

Negotiations

• Understanding the nature of interdependence between negotiation parties

• Applying key concepts of negotiation

• Building trusting relationships with key stakeholders

• Negotiating in an IR context