Financial communication is becoming more relevant. Traditionally, financial
communication was a relevant issue for listed companies. Today, also small
and medium-sized enterprises have to master the challenges of financial
communication. It addresses investors but also other stakeholders.
Thompson defines investor relations as “a strategic management responsibility
that integrates finance, communication, marketing and securities laws compliance
to enable the most effective two-way communication between a company,
the financial community, and other constituencies, which ultimately contributes
to a company's securities achieving fair valuation.”(Adopted by the
NIRI Board of Directors, March 2003) Therefore, efficient and effective strategies,
tactics, and tools are necessary to meet stakeholders’ needs.
Around the world, there is a trend to market financing. In contrast, traditional
bank financing deemphasizes. This leads to the point that all companies have
to deal with new financial partners. The traditional dialogue between management
and bank is no longer up to date. Companies have to deal with different
stakeholders from the financial community within the capital markets.
Especially for small and medium-sized companies it is a difficult task to shape
new communication strategies to reach and bind investors. Because of the
dominant bank financing with its different approaches in this sector in the past,
these companies have a lack of experiences in the field of financial communication.