Financial communications is not just financial marketing. It serves a purpose and has a variety of goals when dealing with a company's stakeholders.

1. Financial Communications Financial Analysis Series:

3. There are two sources of capital that companies can tap for their cash resources:

4. The company’s own operations, in which it must employ efficient processes to maximise liquidity. This includes not only profitability, but also optimisation of the entire cash cycle

5. The company’s sources of capital such as banks and shareholders

6. The credit crunch started affecting banking and has now spread; credit lenders have become very defensiveCompanies must now pro-actively engage their banks, shareholders and other stakeholders. Background

7. Banks Banks Shareholders Shareholders Spin-offs Private investors Private investors Potential Financing partners Financing Partners Target Audiences Corporate Investors Suppliers Operating Business Potential Business partners New Customers Customers Acquiring Agencies Media Joint Ventures Employees Tendering Target audiences for financial communications

9. Overview of management vision and strategy to be incorporated into the investor/creditor message

10. Creation of message for management approval

11. Coordinate message with other financial communications (e.g., annual report, bank) to ensure consistency

12. Ongoing tracking of creditor/investor communications

13. Other potential planning activities

14. Preparations for annual meeting

15. Meet with sell-side analysts and, later, buy-side analystsProcess

17. Clear communication to stakeholders and potential stakeholders in the company

18. Streamlining of information flow to the banks and shareholders with traceable history should lead to improving relations

19. Pro-active information allows the company to move from a historical focus in the discussions to a future-driven modelWhy this method

21. Crisis management

22. Corporate repositioning

23. Targeting business partners

24. Management restructuring

25. Strategic consulting

26. Annual reports

27. Road shows

28. Web page design

29. Public affairs

30. Country and industry conferences

31. Media positioning and placementUses: strategic stakeholder communications

33. Company strengths

34. Company overview

35. Strategy and management

36. Competitive position

37. Core businesses

38. Supplementary businesses

39. Financial review

40. Forward-looking plansSample table of contents:Bank and strategic investor presentation