Using the Internet in Corporate Reporting Jerry Trites, FCA, Zorba Research Inc. Tim Herrod, CA, Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc.

Transcription

1 Using the Internet in Corporate Reporting Jerry Trites, FCA, Zorba Research Inc. Tim Herrod, CA, Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc.

2 Using the Internet in Corporate Reporting CICA Research Report A series of studies based on examination of 115 different websites The members of the Study Group consist of judges from the CICA Corporate Reporting Awards program Includes several case studies

3 Using the Internet in Corporate Reporting Series DOWNLOAD DOWNLOAD DOWNLOAD

4 Disclaimer The views expressed are those of the presenters

5 Agenda The Internet and corporate reporting Best practices for web-based reporting Redesigning existing company websites Questions will be solicited at the end of the presentation

6 The Internet and Corporate Reporting How is the Internet related to corporate reporting? Corporate reporting is the process of communicating with stakeholders, no matter what vehicle is used

7 Best Practices for Web-based Reporting Information overload can be minimized by careful attention to best practices for website content, navigation and usability Best practices for content Content should include: Corporate overview, strategy and goals Stock information News releases Presentations and events Distinguish current content from archived content

8 Best Practices for Web-based Reporting Corporate overview, strategy and goals Clearly marked area that: Describes the company Outlines its investment proposition Review of strategy to increase shareholder value Description of leadership team and its ability to execute the strategy Summary of achievements compared to previously published goals Links to relevant sources for understanding the industry (e.g., industry associations)

9 Best Practices for Web-based Reporting Stock information Current Historical Average High Low

10 Best Practices for Web-based Reporting News releases Bad Good alert

11 Best Practices for Web-based Reporting Presentations and events Information about upcoming events Copies of presentations Webcasts Transcripts, audio or video files

12 Best Practices for Web-based Reporting Best practices for navigation Intuitive Investor relations site easily located from main corporate site Accessibility within 3 clicks Sitemap and search facility Navigation tracking External links open in a new window Single navigation bar

13 Best Practices for Web-based Reporting Best practices for usability Address users primary needs Easy access Print-friendly formats Minimize download times Provide various file formats

14 Best Practices for Web-based Reporting Data-centric More emphasis on data as opposed to documents Does not mean traditional documents all disappear Does mean more data points disclosed that can be imported into custom reports More data tools

15 Best Practices for Web-based Reporting Real-time or near real-time Heading to real-time reporting Have not reached that yet But are sometimes achieving near real-time This is the goal to strive for

16 Best Practices for Web-based Reporting CICA Corporate Reporting Awards Judging Criteria Investor relations content (25% of marks) Navigation and usability (30% of marks) Innovation (20% of marks) Overall effectiveness and best practices (25% of marks)

17 Best Practices for Web-based Reporting Innovation Social Media Slow to develop Legal concerns Inevitably will become a major vehicle Twitter is big! Facebook and LinkedIn are lagging Mobility Mobile friendly presentations A ubiquitous vehicle Think of how mobile units used Easy to download data

18 Redesigning Existing Company Websites Website evaluation A redesign may be needed if the company website: Does not align with current business goals and strategy Is difficult to navigate Has outdated information Contains mistakes, typos and broken links Has not been updated in years Is not properly rendered by the latest web browsers Has a high visitor bounce rate (visitors hit your site and immediately leave)

19 Redesigning Existing Company Websites Website evaluation (continued) Is cluttered with flashing graphics, images and content Does not show up in Google or other search engines Does not feature valuable, timely content (blogs, news releases, audio / video) Does not follow accessibility guidelines for people with disabilities Is made up of entirely static content Is difficult to read (font style, size, colour) Does not generate leads Does not complement online and offline marketing efforts 19

20 Redesigning Existing Company Websites Important matters to consider Target audience Navigation (well organized) Usability (customizable)

21 Redesigning Existing Company Websites Well organized Good organization and good navigation go together Good organization will contribute to intuitiveness of interface Based on study of user needs (i.e., what information they want most often)

22 Redesigning Existing Company Websites Customizable Ability to customize reports is important Imports into Excel Data points that can be imported into user created reports

23 Redesigning Existing Company Websites Other matters to consider Evaluation Analyze statistics Determine why people now visit Content Interaction Integration Site promotion Research competitors Hire the right people

24 Conclusions The website should be viewed as a data mart The data within the site is packaged largely according to packages that have evolved over a long period of time within the paper paradigm (e.g., as financial statements, MD&As and annual reports) Need to think of the availability of the data and question whether the traditional packages really do the job Need to think of how that data can be repackaged to make it more useful to investors and other users The website needs to be viewed holistically and the data available made consistent across the site

25 The Dream The data mart is completely organized and packaged by using XBRL A single taxonomy is created for the presentation of website data marts that sweep in all the data that would be included in the Investor Relations section of a website An XBRL reader is included in the website so that the users would not have to look at XML style instance documents and this reader would be used to assemble the data users wants The advantages of this website taxonomy would be impressive. It would enable instant access to all the details in the Investor Relations section of a website, even within the notes to the financial statements. The information could be compared internally and with other companies Most importantly, the users would not have to dig through annual reports and big PDF documents to find the information they want Why don t we do that?

26 26 Questions?