#31864
Financial execs may not appreciate it yet, but this new data-tagging system should speed the flow of info and create new ways to analyze it.
Stone, Amey. BusinessWeek (2005). Articles>Business Communication>Financial>XBRL
#29087
Annual Reports: A Literature Review (1989-2001) 
Since the collapse of Enron Corporation in November 2001, annual reports and corporate financial disclosures have been the focus of government, corporate, and public attention. This article examines the literature written about annual reports between 1989 and 2001 to identify trends in research and determine areas of future study. Articles were categorized as related to SEC regulations and guidelines, summary annual reports, online annual reports, rhetorical analysis of annual reports, readability and accessibility of annual reports, methods of conveying negative information in annual reports, effective annual report writing, use and importance of annual reports, or use of annual reports in business writing classes. Post-Enron, it is likely that the number of articles in this area will dramatically increase over the next five to ten years.
Lord, Heather L. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2002). Articles>Business Communication>Financial>Reports
#31404
Are You Spending the "Right" Amount? 
To back up a request for more budgetor defend the existing one, you need to know exactly what you’re spending--and what you’re getting in return. But how can you tell if you’re spending too much on communication? This article suggests five approaches to weighing up the cost versus value of your communication activities.
Sinickas, Angela D. Sinickas Communications (2006). Articles>Management>Financial>Assessment
#31303
Beyond Return on Investment: Managing Communication Systems as Business Assets
As communicators, we are increasingly under the gun to demonstrate the return on investment for our work. But using ROI formulas that attempt to pin down hard financial gains may actually reduce our potential credibility and influence. There's a new language and strategy for communicators that can help us move from being messengers to managers of corporate assets.
Gayeski, Diane. Communication World Bulletin (2006). Careers>Management>Financial>ROI
#31622
Budgeting for Communication Research
To determine what amount to budget, discuss with an outside consultant the ballpark ranges for the types of research you want to conduct. Use the high-end numbers, plus estimated expenses, as your first budget recommendation. After the budget is approved, ask the consultant for a written, detailed proposal that will match the final amount that was allocated.
Sinickas, Angela D. Sinickas Communications (1999). Articles>Management>Financial>Research
#31306
Communicating and Measuring Employee Contribution to Strategy
How do we shift our communication focus to address the challenges of globalization and advancing technology? And how do we prove to senior management that successful communication is the key to navigating this new business environment? In a word: relevance. Our communication must be simpler in content, but more detailed in terms of implementation and process.
Anderson, Chris and Alix Edmiston. Communication World Bulletin (2006). Articles>Management>Financial
#31221
Communicators Must Have Business, Financial Knowledge
For decades, communicators have been able to advance in their careers while avoiding anything to do with numbers and most things having to do with the essence of how business decisions are made. To succeed in the future, this will no longer be the case. A recent series of conversations with 31 chief executive officers for a study conducted by the Arthur W. Page Society revealed that the No. 1 quality CEOs want in a communication chief is a detailed knowledge of the company’s business.
Gentry, James K. Communication World Bulletin (2008). Articles>Business Communication>Financial
#31014
Corporate Risk Reporting: A Content Analysis of Narrative Risk Disclosures in Prospectuses
This study examines whether companies report risk-relevant information to prospective investors. While corporate risk communication is important for the well-functioning of capital markets, our current understanding of risk reporting practices is limited. The sample consists of Dutch companies raising capital on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange in the late 1990s. In this setting, companies had much discretion in writing the risk section of the prospectus. After a detailed content analysis of the risk sections, the author demonstrates that a measure of risk extracted from these texts successfully predicts the volatility of companies' future stock prices, the sensitivity of future stock prices to market-wide fluctuations, as well as severe declines in future stock prices. Overall, these results support the view that prospectuses of Dutch companies provide adequate information about material investment risks.
Deumes, Rogier. JBC (2008). Articles>Business Communication>Financial>Risk Communication
#30556
Entrepreneurs and the 'F' Word
Since most employees-turned-entrepreneurs have little formal training in finance, they may be less than confident about how to ensure that their finances are in order. Frick shares some of her experiences in learning how to manage her finances for her business.
Frick, Elizabeth G. 'Bette'. Intercom (2007). Careers>Management>Financial
#31061
Everything Counts in Large Amounts 
Finance is not a skill set that comes easily to most technical communicators. Many of us earned our college degrees in majors (journalism in my case) that were more related to our verbal SAT scores than to our math scores. Also, those of us who aren't in business for ourselves often rely on invisible corporate functionaries to handle all that tedious, confusing money stuff so we can focus on more important, or at least more familiar, matters.
Dornbrook, Dan. Tieline (2008). Articles>Business Communication>Financial
#32052
Five Things to Do While Offline
You still (should) have all your receipts, invoices, and other financial documentation at hand. Why not go through everything, to see if you have to make changes to your budget or financial setup?
Contract Worker (2008). Careers>Management>Financial
#31304
Four Steps to Demonstrating Communication Return on Investment
I've never met a senior business leader who didn't want to make more money. Nor have I met one who didn't appreciate that communication breakdowns lead to mistakes, accidents, shoddy service, high costs and low productivity. Business leaders, especially CEOs, are eager to rid themselves of value-draining dips in performance that prevent them from hitting their numbers. As a communicator, if you can do four common-sense things well, you can not only help senior leaders to avoid these breakdowns, but you can also demonstrate how to maximize the power of communication for better business results.
Shaffer, Jim. Communication World Bulletin (2006). Articles>Communication>Financial>ROI
#31244
Helping Them Plan for the Future: Communicating about Retirement Benefits
As the Baby Boomer generation, 80 million strong in the U.S. alone, prepares for retirement in the next few years, benefit communication has come to the forefront of employee communication. Given that Americans are personally responsible for their retirement and are using employer-sponsored benefits to achieve their goals, benefit communicators have a terrific opportunity to effect change for millions of people. Communicators can play a pivotal role in helping their organizations offer the most effective retirement benefit program to help employees from every generation achieve their financial goals.
Gallagher, Diane. Communication World Bulletin (2007). Articles>Business Communication>Financial
#31860
Improving Financial Analysis and Reporting Using XBRL and the Microsoft Office System
The process of financial reporting and analysis can represent a huge cost for many companies. For example, the preparation of quarterly statements for publicly traded companies consumes the majority of a finance department’s resources during the reporting period. Likewise, it is not uncommon for equity analysts to spend up to one-third of their time entering data into spreadsheet models and verifying that data for accuracy.
#31452
A Look at the Next Generation of Measurement
In boom times, companies can be pressured into spending lavishly to please their employees, providing a variety of perks in the belief that happy employees are productive employees. While this may be true, when leaner times come and businesses struggle to grow, the goal of employee satisfaction is put under greater scrutiny. Today, investments in employee-related plans and programmes must do more than satisfy employees. They must be able to provide a measurable return on investment.
Fralicx, Rod. Communication World Bulletin (2005). Careers>Management>Financial
#32013
Messy Problems and Lay Audiences: Teaching Critical Thinking Within the Finance Curriculum
This article investigates the critical thinking difficulties of finance majors when asked to address ill-structured finance problems. The authors build on previous research in which they asked students to analyze an ill-structured investment problem and recommend a course of action. The results revealed numerous critical thinking weaknesses, including a failure to address the client's problem, use analytical tools systematically, construct rhetorically useful graphics, or translate finance concepts and methodologies into lay language. The present research aims to understand more deeply why students struggle with ill-structured problems. Using think-aloud protocols, audiotaped interviews, and other strategies, the authors explore causes of finance students' difficulties and suggest strategies for addressing them. The results suggest that the homework tasks typically given them, such as quantitative problem sets using algorithmic procedures, do not prepare them to confront ill-structured problems requiring disciplinary arguments aimed at specified audiences. Research further suggests that teaching audience adaptation--especially for nonexpert audiences--is helpful in promoting critical thinking.
Carrithers, David, Teresa Ling and John C. Bean. Business Communication Quarterly (2008). Articles>Education>Financial>Business Communication
#31420
New Disclosure Regulations May Spur Better Communication With Employees
Within the past five years, two significant pieces of legislation have created new challenges for communicators: Regulation Fair Disclosure and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. While these laws were enacted only in the U.S., their implications for communicators worldwide are worthy of discussion.
Matalucci, Paul. Communication World Bulletin (2005). Articles>Business Communication>Financial
#29040
The Internet is revolutionizing the investment world. There are clear benefits to these changes, including lower costs and faster access to the market for investors. There also are consequences to these changes when investors take risks without having access to clear, accurate, and full disclosures. In a free-market system, investors must have access to information they can understand and use autonomously to have full and equal access to the investment market. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently passed a rule requiring businesses to use plain English to try and rid disclosures of their traditionally complex and ambiguous language. However, SEC's rule only addresses the front and back sides of prospectus disclosures. Consequently, the success of plain English will depend on the writer and business using it. Public corporations committed to using plain English will empower investors with the information they need to participate in the market freely and safely. In return, businesses will create a more effective and efficient free-market system by maximizing utility, benefiting producers, consumers, and the market as a whole.
Clements, Rhonda. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2000). Articles>Business Communication>Financial>Minimalism
#31518
Practical Tips for Merger Communication
When two companies merge, the complexities, emotions and often sweeping changes behind the deal can hinder effective communication to key stakeholders. Yet a well planned and implemented communication strategy contributes to the very success of the merger itself. How can you overcome the obstacles to developing and delivering on a merger communication strategy?
Fagan-Smith, Barbara and Ruta Skelton. Communication World Bulletin (2004). Articles>Business Communication>Financial>Workplace
#31214
A Primer on Financial Statements
One of the major challenges facing corporate communicators is understanding the financial statements of public companies. First, there is the math. Then, there is the matter of all that unfamiliar jargon. The purpose of this column and its next few installments is to give you an overview of the primary financial statements—the balance sheet, the income statement and the statement of cash flows—and how they are generated, so that you can make sense of a public company’s financial documents.
Gentry, James K. Communication World Bulletin (2008). Articles>Business Communication>Financial
#31327
The Shoestring Inferiority Complex: How Trying to Keep Up Can Get PR Pros Down
One Saturday afternoon not long ago, I found myself gawking out my front window as my neighbors carried in their new plasma TV. I felt that wistful pang of envy. Why can't I get a plasma TV? PR departments working on a shoestring budget are largely represented by the public and not-for-profit sector. For these organizations, the feeling of having to make do and having to do without is a fact of life.
Austin, Lisa. Communication World Bulletin (2006). Articles>Business Communication>Financial>Public Relations
#30705
Signaling Corporate Strategy in IPO Communication: A Study of Biotechnology IPOs on the NASDAQ
A clear corporate strategy communication can be a signal to financial analysts and public investors at the time of an initial public offering (IPO). This study examines IPO prospectuses of 57 biotechnology firms listed on the NASDAQ between 1997 and 2002. Using regression analysis, this article shows that the clarity, intensity, and consistency of the corporate strategy signal are not strong enough to affect the 1st-day initial returns. However, consistent communication of a prospector strategy negatively impacts 30-day initial returns, whereas consistent communication of a defender strategy positively impacts 30-day initial returns.
Gao, Hongzhi, Jenny Darroch, Damien Mather and Alan MacGregor. JBC (2008). Articles>Business Communication>Financial
#31861
XBRL is reinventing how we transmit and use data in business. XBRL is not just for SEC companies: Small businesses and practitioners alike could soon be using XBRL to submit information to bankers, the IRS, and other agencies. XBRL will become a part of every CPA’s practice.
Phillips, Mary E., Tammy E. Bahmanziari and Robert G. Colvard. Journal of Accountancy (2008). Articles>Business Communication>Financial>XBRL
#31862
This slide show demonstrates the steps to tag a simple income statement using Rivet’s Dragon Tag software.
Phillips, Mary E., Tammy E. Bahmanziari and Robert G. Colvard. Journal of Accountancy (2008). Resources>Presentations>Financial>XBRL
#31859
XBRL: The Language of Finance and Accounting
The eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) is a language for capturing financial information throughout a business' information processes that will eventually be reported to shareholders, banks, regulators, and other parties. The goal of XBRL is to make the analysis and exchange of corporate information more reliable and easier to facilitate.
Waldt, Dale. XML.com (2004). Articles>Business Communication>Financial>XBRL
