A perennial topic that IROs are challenged with is guidance and all that comes with it: issues such as to guide or not, what level of disclosure, and when to update. Investor Relations professionals are faced with the task of striking a balance between providing investors with the information they crave while recognizing the lack of perfect information as it relates to their own business and the macro environment together with the liability that comes with forwarding looking disclosure.

On this panel, we will focus on the pros and cons of guidance, utilizing case studies of companies that have historically guided, adapted their guidance over time and are opposed to guidance. In addition, we will discuss the aspects of resuming (or modifying) guidance post-recession.

The financial media plays an important role in delivering information about companies. The evolution of the landscape has changed how the news is gathered and reported. For microcap companies with little sell side following, financial media in all of its forms can be one of the most important ways to increase visibility and interest. Though the session will focus on the US financial media, tips discussed will be applicable internationally.

In this session, we will:

• Discuss how best to work with all forms of financial media
• Provide insight into how to reach and engage influential news organizations
• Share tips on working successfully with the media

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) are working toward a G-20 goal of using a single set of improved, high-quality, global, converged accounting standards developed through rigorous due process. The first international harmonization accounting rules were issued in 1973. The beginning of the IFRS adhesion took place in 2002, when the European Community decided that more than 7,000 companies should adopt the rules in the consolidated financial statements from 2005 on. In the same period, other countries also migrated to IFRS, including Australia, Hong Kong, and South Africa. Brazil, South Korea, India and Canada are also IFRS compliant now.

A number of these standards are expected to become final during 2011 for implementation by U.S. GAAP and IFRS preparers may do so from 2015 on.

This session is designed to look at how institutional investors make their investment decisions and what the buy side views as investor relations best practices.

Rivel Research Group is drawing on a series of studies conducted since 2001 that highlight how the investment community makes decisions. Current findings presented are based on a representative sample of US and European investors. These studies focus heavily on the issues that trigger buy side decision-making at three separate and distinct phases of an investment professional's involvement with a common stock. Key takeaways will include how to best deliver your company's strategy and how to effectively measure the investor relations function. Attendees will also develop a firm grasp of how conventional thinking about capital deployment strategies has changed over time.

Institutional Investor Magazine announced its All-America Executive Team – Leadership and Investor Relations Awards in January 2011. Attendees will understand the criteria used for selecting award recipients for investor relations officers, c-level executives, and company investor relations programs, and what this all means in the investment process.

Finally, attendees will get an individual's point of view. How does one investor relations officer present its corporate strategy and key metrics that captivates the buy-side? What does one buy-side analyst look for in a company's key messaging and related data points that facilitates the investment decision making.

Say-on-Pay is one of the most pressing new governance issues facing IROs. Regulatory requirements are creating proxy statements that are longer, and read less frequently. Many institutional investors rely on external proxy advisors to summarize and opine on company proxies, and retail investors simply are not voting.

Although no company has complete control over the outcome of Say-on-Pay, the IRO can improve their value to the management team by having a thorough, proactive plan and point of view.

Along with Say-on-Pay, there have been initial calls for a "Fifth Analyst Call" by certain influential institutional investors, asking for a discussion of governance and compensation topics for a select few.

This environment presents IROs with a great opportunity to utilize both their investor engagement skills to improve relationships with major investors/voters as well as their messaging skills to improve the quality and clarity of their company's proxy disclosure documents and coordination with legal and HR peers.

This panel will share experiences and cover recommendations with respect to proactive pre-proxy engagement, resultant improvements to messaging, the impact they feel this has on investor support for company management teams, boards, and compensation programs (including Say-on-Pay proposals), and any heightened visibility and appreciation IROs gained within their companies as a result.

The practice of investor relations is constantly changing – and thus, the skills that make for a successful IR practitioner. This session explores the skills IR practitioners need to have in 2011 to be successful in their current positions and to advance in their careers. What are CEOs and CFOs looking for in an IRO? Will the trend toward former sell siders as IROs be a lasting one, and do practitioners now need significant capital markets experience to be hired or promoted?

An experienced investor relations recruiter moderates a panel of recently hired IROs to discuss the issues. The panel will offer suggestions on how IR practitioners should position their experience most effectively when entering the job market.