It's the bottom line, stupid.

Communicating the bottom line to corporate stakeholders is no longer the sole domain of the CFO or investor relations manager. Corporate communicators have an opportunity to elevate their profiles by learning how to work more closely with CFOs and IR specialists to communicate an organization's bottom line to a variety of non-financial stakeholders.

In my opinion, investor relations is no longer the sole responsibility of the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) or Investor Relations Manager (IRM).

As the owner of a public relations agency that specializes in both corporate communication and investor relations, I'm concerned about the ever-widening gap between these two disciplines. Today's global economies and work cultures dictate that these two disciplines should work more closely together, not apart.

I work with CFOs and IRMs in both large and small organizations on a daily basis. When it comes to communicating financial information to shareholders, stock analysts and institutional money managers, investor relations professionals know their crafts well.

In most international communities, large organizations with sophisticated IR and corporate communication teams blend key financial messages with corporate objectives. These, however, are the minority. Most organizations have much to learn about crafting and distributing key financial and marketing communication messages to non-financial stakeholders.

This is an area where corporate communicators have an opportunity to shine. They can stake out important turf at the strategic counsel level, becoming advisors to the investor relations specialists in large companies, and to the presidents of mid-to-small-sized companies. Corporate communicators can help these finance-oriented executives recognize solid opportunities that can shape public perception of their companies by clearly and concisely communicating the company's financial performance. Communicators also will ensure their future senior role as part of their organization's management team.

Corporate communicators have the expertise to integrate bottom-line information with other key marketing communication messages. These integrated messages can play a significant role that may enhance the value of a company or positively influence the price of its stock.

The Rules Are Changing

Many countries have strengthened or are moving toward tighter governance rules that demand corporate officers assume greater responsibility for their organization's communication program. This formal requirement for a communication plan, and accountability for its execution, clearly makes room for corporate communicators of all stripes to play a significant role in the investor relations process.

And yet, from my perspective, I see an increasing trend, particularly in larger organizations, toward isolating the communication or public relations function from the investor relations function.

It's been my experience that if communication people are involved at all in communicating financial information, it typically is to coordinate the design and printing of the annual report. They are not always treated as communication specialists who can add value to the total investor relations process.

I rarely see - even in large organizations - the interaction of communication practitioners in the overall investor relations program. In fact, in most small-to-mid-sized companies that lack a communication professional, I rarely see an IR plan or a corporate communication plan in place.

Limiting Financial Information

I also see a movement toward limiting the audiences for financial information to the traditional investor relations stakeholders: analysts, brokers, lending institutions and shareholders. Overlooking or ignoring non-financial stakeholders is easy to do but not prudent in the long term.

Little communication of financial information from non-public companies is available. Why? Some say it's because they are not legally required to reveal financial information. While this is likely the case, they are missing out on sterling opportunities to communicate their companies' financial health and corporate goals to employees, customers, potential customers and suppliers.

In some cases, they lack the foresight to realize the immediate effect these messages can have on existing stakeholders. They are also missing out on the opportunity to inform and educate these stakeholders who may become future shareholders should the organization choose to become a public company. Corporate communication professionals have a great deal to contribute in changing this process. However, they must seize these communication opportunities before they are absorbed by others within an organization.

Financial information, from cash flow to net earnings and beyond, is a critical - and some would say the only real - barometer of corporate health. Yes, of course, it's important information that is fundamental to key decision making. But so are corporate marketing objectives. Why not combine them into one seamless set of key messages?

Integrating the PR Fundamentals

What can we bring to the process of communicating the financial facts of our organization? We bring the fundamental principles of clear and timely communication planning and execution to the table - the same principles we bring daily to our jobs in public affairs or corporate communication.

We can use these principles to research, develop and articulate a comprehensive investor relations plan, and to craft the individual components of the plan - the ubiquitous annual report, the media relations, the interim reports, the multi-media road shows, the speeches and other IR tools.

As corporate communicators, we need to understand the basics of financial information so we can return to our communication departments (or at least switch to our communication hats) and translate that information in a manner that is relevant to the employee, the supplier or the joint venture partner. As communicators, we can help ensure that the company we work for communicates, rather than simply reports, its financial performance and plans. We can bring long-term strategic communication into the regulatory environment of the CFO.

We can broaden the audiences requiring financial information to include other stakeholders such as employees, customers and suppliers, and we can hone our own skills to tailor that financial information to the needs of a wider audience.

We can use our knowledge of a company's strategic plan, it's vision and mission to formulate key messages that can be assimilated into the investor relations materials.

Let's discuss how.

For those who learned traditional public affairs practice the way I did - you can incorporate the RACE formula (Research, Analysis, Communication and Evaluation) - the same formula that drives your product and brand launches, your internal roll-outs, and your marketing communication to the CFO or investor relations department.

Do Your Homework

As professional communicators, we are trained to conduct market surveys, internal audits and focus groups. We analyze various audiences in great detail, we find out what they know, how they know it and what else they want to know. We make certain that we understand what our key stakeholders think about us before we communicate with them. We determine what they perceive to be our strengths and weaknesses. In short, we do our homework first. As communicators, we help the CFO deal with his or her main audience - the investment community and shareholders - in the same way, using the same tools.

I'm not talking about a sophisticated IR department that may exist in a large company. I'm referring to the type of company where the CFO and IR contact are the same person, or where the president is the main IR contact on a day-to-day basis. In these situations, we can help define the audience by bringing our research skills to define audience concerns for a corporate product or brand launch or an internal publication.

When we develop an investor relations plan at my agency, we begin with an investor relations audit. We ask key analysts, brokers, shareholders and others about a dozen key questions including: What are the company's strengths as an investment? What concerns you about this company? What information do you require to recommend or continue to support this company?

The answers usually reveal genuine gaps between what management tells us "everyone" knows about the company and the market's perception. Investors want to see a corporate strategy; they want to know that a strong management team is driving the train, they want to see this year's performance measured against last year's objectives. Companies often believe that they are doing an exemplary job at communicating all three. However, a well-crafted and executed communication audit will confirm if a gap exists between a company's perception of itself and the reality of the marketplace.

As a communicator, you can easily develop and administer this type of audit for your organization's stakeholders. You can also use a number of other shareholder tracking mechanisms to more clearly define who holds your company's shares. You can then communicate each stakeholder's needs to the CFO or IRM in your organization.

Developing the Key Messages

Once the research is done, corporate communicators can play a key role in analyzing the responses and incorporating stakeholders' needs into key messages that support an overall communication strategy. You can help the IR person analyze the research results in terms of developing key messages to be delivered, information gaps to be closed and correcting misperceptions to each stakeholder.

And, of course, as communicators, we can build investor relations communication plans with defined timelines, budgets and tools. We can use our expertise, creativity and experience to broaden the range of tools investor relations people use, and suggest how to implement those tools effectively and efficiently.

Imagine how useful the activity of formal communication planning could be in this context. IR tools could deliver specific key messages that address the needs of key stakeholders. Additional tools such as road shows, fact sheets, and multimedia presentations could carry key messages to other audiences in an equally targeted way, and it can all be planned for and budgeted well in advance.

Integrating the Key Messages

The real benefit is that corporate communicators can integrate the financial communication defined in the investor relations plan with the other corporate communication plans within your area of responsibility.

Communicators can take the knowledge about stake-holders' needs for financial information, and communicate the appropriate financial information to those audiences in a way that is meaningful to each (e.g., an employee annual report, a thank-you piece to customers with a brief financial overview - and a salute to strategic alliance partners that communicates the alliance's financial impact on the organization involved).

Confirming the Key Messages

Finally, you can evaluate the success of an IR program in the same way you evaluate a customer communication tool or employee newsletter. A follow-up communication audit, a feedback mechanism incorporated into specific investor relations tools, or face-to-face interviews about the quantity and quality of information being sent will help to refine the program for the next cycle and ensure that both financial and corporate messages are coming from the same page; that each enhances and supports the other.

Upgrading Your PR Skills

Beyond your existing body of knowledge of investor relations, you should be prepared to learn more about the regulatory environment that drives IR. As the perceived "corporate information gatekeeper," you have a responsibility to know the rules and issues facing CFOs, accountants and IR specialists. Become familiar with local and national governance issues, the rules regarding the content of the annual and other documents, and continuous disclosure issues. You can also join the local chapter of a national investor relations society, or attend their luncheons as a guest. If you're serious about learning more about investor relations, or perhaps becoming an investor relations specialist, take a recognized securities course.

More and more, the investment community evaluates companies on the basis of both financial and non-financial performance. Issues we are all used to dealing with, such as environmental issues, human resource issues, strategic planning issues, all play a large role in determining a company's position in the minds of the investment community.

As corporate communicators, we bring our expertise at developing key messages and strategic planning to financial communication. We also bring our communication expertise in other new and emerging issues to the IR table.

Clearly, corporate communicators must have a solid understanding of financial public relations, and work in tandem with CFOs and IRMs to effectively interpret and communicate the bottom line to the company's stakeholders, in a manner that supports corporate objectives.

We have a tremendous opportunity to seize the senior advisory role we all want. Communicating the bottom line to non-financial stake-holders is within our grasp. Let's seize the opportunity, now!

Beth Diamond is president of Diamond Gunter Group, a Calgary, Alta.-based public relations firm specializing in investor relations, corporate and marketing communication and media training. She can be reached at [e-mail] or [phone].