Every year, we, at Q4 look forward to networking and the amazing show put on by @irmagazine.

We’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate our clients who have been nominated:

Grand prix for best overall investor relations – large cap (C$10 bn and over)

Goldcorp

Best investor relations officer – large cap

Goldcorp

Best IR by a CEO – large-cap

Goldcorp

Best IR by a CEO – mid-cap

Intact Financial

Best financial reporting

Goldcorp

Best investment community meetings

Goldcorp

Best use of technology

Agnico-Eagle

Best Practice of corporate social responsibility

Barrick Gold

Best Crisis Management

Agnico-Eagle

Best IR by a Canadian company in the US Market

First Quantum Minerals

SECTOR AWARDS

Materials
Agnico-Eagle
Barrick Gold
Goldcorp

Real Estate
Riocan

Congratulations and good luck!

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The CRA is in its 60th year and presents awards for excellence in financial reporting, corporate governance disclosure, electronic disclosure and sustainable development reporting to companies listed on the TSX and to federal Crown corporations.  Separate excellence and honourable mention awards are also presented to reports that are judged to be the best, regardless of industry sector, in each of these four judging areas.  Lastly, among the industry winners, one company is given the overall award of excellence for corporate reporting.

A lot of the companies were repeat winners from last year and Q4 would like to take this opportunity to extend our congratulations all of them!

Awards of Excellence for Large and Small Federal Crown Corporations:

• Large Crown winner — Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
• Small Crown winner – Defence Construction Canada
• Provincial Crown winner – SaskTel

Awards of Excellence for Corporate Reporting: Industry winners:

• Communications & Media – TELUS Corporation
• Consumer Products – Tim Hortons
• Diversified Industries – SNC-Lavalin Group Inc.
• Financial Services – BMO Financial Group
• Forest Products – Catalyst Paper Corporation
• Life Sciences/Technology – Newalta
• Mining – PotashCorp
• Oil & Gas – Suncor
• Real Estate/Utilities & Pipelines – Enbridge

These industry winners received the highest average rankings in the four judging categories: financial reporting, electronic disclosure, sustainable development reporting and corporate governance disclosure.

An Award of Excellence was selected in each of the four judging categories and an Honourable Mention was given for financial reporting, electronic disclosure, sustainable development reporting and corporate governance disclosure.

The judging category winners are:

FINANCIAL REPORTING:

• Award of Excellence – PotashCorp
• Honourable Mention – BMO Financial Group

ELECTRONIC DISCLOSURE:

• Award of Excellence – Agnico-Eagle
• Honourable Mention – PotashCorp

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT REPORTING:

• Award of Excellence – Suncor Energy Inc.
• Honourable Mention – TELUS Corporation

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE DISCLOSURE:

• Award of Excellence – TD Bank Financial Group
• Honourable Mention – Nexen Inc.

The Overall Award of Excellence for Corporate Reporting was presented to the most outstanding industry winner in 2011: TELUS Corporation.

Congratulations to all of the winners from the Q4 team!

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As we are in the midst of earnings, and as annual general meeting season is just around the corner, I thought I would share some thoughts on best practices for live-tweeting.  Note: these best practices have been put together based on observations we have made through our research on how public companies are using social media for investor relations.  Here is a list of what we will cover today (in no particular order):

1. Preparing tweets in advance of the call.
2. Providing a link to the materials associated with the live event.
3. Proactively soliciting questions in advance.
4. Consistent use of #hashtags.
5. Appending tweets with your ticker symbol.
6. Linking to disclaimers.

One additional note, before I get started. I’ve left disclaimers until the end, as I feel this warrants a post on its own.  So that said, I’ll be putting together some thoughts (with the hope of having some experts weigh in) on the appropriate placement of disclaimers on Twitter.  As usual, I’ll provide some examples.  You can look for this post the week of November 14, 2011.

1.    Preparing tweets in advance of the call. This is easily accomplished by extracting key messages from the release and the script. Compiling the information for the tweets prior to the call will ensure consistent messaging and help mitigate the risk of tweeting anything that was not previously released over an approved disclosure channel.  It would be wise to also share this information with your legal counsel in advance and obtain their sign-off.

2.    Providing a link to the materials associated with the live event. For example, providing a link to the event well in advance (common practice is at least one week prior), and letting investors know that you’ll be live-tweeting is a good best practice. Johnson and Johnson did this as shown in the tweet below:

Similarly, sending out a tweet the morning of the event and re-sending the link to the notice of call will serve as a reminder.

Also sending out a link to any additional materials relating to the specific event such as a press release or presentation as soon as it has been disclosed over the appropriate disclosure channels will equip followers with the information they need.  This can be especially useful in the case where a company holds an investor/analyst day to update the investment community on a merger.  For example, Constellation Energy sent out the tweet below to inform the financial media and bloggers with a link to a website that houses more information related to the merger:

3.    Proactively soliciting questions in advance.  If you are going to allow investors to submit questions in advance, you should have an appropriate system set up where investors can submit them.  For example, we have seen companies proactively ask their investors to post questions on their blog like Microvision does below:

We’ve also seen TVI Pacific provide a link to their website where the instructions are easily found in the upper right-hand corner:

In general, if you’re going to allow investors to submit questions in advance, ensure that they are properly informed. This can be easily accomplished by using your website and social media so everyone has an equal opportunity to have their question addressed.

4.    Consistent use of #hashtags.  If you’re going to live-tweet an event (and you intend on continuing the practice each quarter or annually for your shareholders’ meeting), we recommend that you use consistent #hashtags. For example, when Polycom live-tweets their earnings calls, they incorporate their stock symbol (PLCM) along with the current quarter (i.e. Q1, Q2…) and append every tweet with the appropriate #hashtag like they did below for their Q1 results:

Using consistent #hashtags helps followers identify the event being discussed. It also helps anyone who was not able to follow along the ‘live’ event, to search for and read the tweets at a later time.

5.    Appending tweets with ticker symbol. IR teams who are live-tweeting events – particularly earnings are also appending their tweets with their ticker symbol, like American Electric Power does below:

StockTwits invented the $TICKER which was built to aggregate messages around tickers.  As such it acts as a search engine that gathers all messages that include common messages using the $TICKER tag (e.g. $AAPL). Appending the $TICKER will not only ensure message discoverability across StockTwits, but also on Twitter and the wider social sphere.

6.    Linking to disclaimers.  As mentioned, stay tuned for an upcoming post dedicated to the use of disclaimers on Twitter.

Let me know if I’ve overlooked anything in the comments below.

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Mary Meeker on 2011 Internet Trends [VIDEO]: http://youtu.be/Xdx0ezyUTTo

Perspective on Occupy Wall Street: SUZANNE: http://stks.co/dvA

Mobile Social Networking App Audience Grows 126% In Past Year: http://zite.to/n1cYt0

Can watching Twitter trends help predict the future?: http://zite.to/qfvcb4

Web savvy boosts client trust level: http://bit.ly/pqcVpX

The State of Social Media 2011: Social is the new normal: http://bit.ly/o3lcMW

The Missed Red Flags on Groupon: http://nyti.ms/r3LTIU

Report: Social media drives sales—especially when combined with PR: http://bit.ly/paFKnI

European Crisis Competence Barometer: http://bit.ly/pbPtBK

Is there a legal obligation to produce a paper copy of your Annual Report?: http://bit.ly/oBYTdc

The savvy executive’s guide to buying back shares: http://tinyurl.com/44ehpuh

7 Tips for being awesome on StockTwits: http://stks.co/ifx

The strategic application of Web 2.0 in the mining industry: bit.ly/qWuFiP

Contacts in an Online Newsroom: http://ow.ly/73JRw

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A Report on Corporate Governance and Shareholder Activism: http://bit.ly/riETlU

OSHA updates Whistleblower Investigations Manual: http://bit.ly/odNVZ1

Analysis: What if people stop sharing? Facebook has the answer: bit.ly/p13GhY

3 Takeaways from Nielsen Social Media Report: http://bit.ly/pQYB2y

A public company without a corporate website is like: http://post.ly/3ODvl

Are Investors Too Busy for Annual Meetings?: http://bit.ly/pXb9tP

Why Email May Be Draining Your Company’s Productivity: http://bit.ly/o1JSP8

Netflix signs pay TV deal for Dreamworks animation: http://reut.rs/o170wY

Were Groupon’s And Overstock’s Mgmt & Auditors Stupid or did they Condone Improper Accounting Practices?: http://read.bi/rbAJGt

The Mobile Future Is About Much More Than Apps [Video]: http://bit.ly/pDZ3xW

Social media around the world: 2011: http://bit.ly/nGTLMV

Social Power and the Coming Corporate Revolution: http://onforb.es/q6ThjY

Introducing Amazon Silk: http://bit.ly/oAqmwJ

Mobile & Social Lead The Way In Ad Spend: http://goo.gl/zMeJP

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That’s why we’ve decided to put together a list of some interesting things we’ve been reading and subsequently sharing with our followers for the week of August 8, 2011:

Social Media: Get Out of My Sandbox!: bit.ly/pBgkad

Advisors begin addressing social media: http://bit.ly/pjYymM

10 Cool Social Media Monitoring Tools: http://twb.io/o6Bn1O

Social Media and Search Engine Optimization: Why They Work Together: http://bit.ly/nnke0O

At this rate, there won’t be a tablet market, just an iPad market: http://dlvr.it/fhYCb

How to make Social Media work for Earnings: http://bit.ly/n66EzR

What The Stock Market Usually Does After Big Political Votes: http://read.bi/nEN944

Why this crisis isn’t like ‘08: http://t.co/muOWNqI

About that plane over S&P: http://ir4.me/fX3x8

Groupon drops accounting measure used in SEC filing ahead of IPO: http://bit.ly/pzyYn2

How to use Twitter & StockTwits: http://bit.ly/qT7T7F

UK Govt. to meet Facebook, Twitter and RIM about their responsibility to not fuel riots: http://tnw.co/nu9XnX

Kingfisher takes social approach with new IR app: http://t.co/5gbmBIH

What Makes for a Successful Investor Relations Program?: http://bit.ly/ngIHsr

Happy Reading!

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What follows are ideas incorporated from the discussion (with direct ideas attributed where applicable) as well as commentary prompted by various articles (which will be referenced in the body of this post).

Before I get started a summary of the rule from this WSJ article:

Under the rule, companies will be required to allow shareholders to vote once every six years on how often they would like to cast a “say-on-pay” vote with three options: annually, once every two years or once every three years.

In addition, the provision provides institutional investors with a nonbinding vote on “golden-parachute” payments that are compensation arrangements for top executives associated with merger transactions, acquisitions and going-private deals.

Early results from recent annual meetings conducted this year revealed that most companies want shareholders to vote every three years, but shareholders want the ability to vote on an annual basis.

The votes on executive compensation will be non-binding, which means that companies can ignore the early results (previously cited) that have shown that some shareholders want an annual vote.   This may be a missed opportunity for companies as a shorter timeline can potentially allow companies to tie in compensation targets with corporate metrics otherwise disclosed (@InsuranceIR).

Fully disclosing compensation targets and tying them into the bigger picture will help provide a better understanding amongst shareholders and show them that management is aligned with stakeholder interests and doing what is best for the company.

If companies choose this path, IROs should be well versed in the topic – if they aren’t shareholders could be easily turned off (@brocromanek).

One way to help IROs get up to speed on the contents of the compensation agreements is to work with the corporate secretary to refine wording to remove jargon & legalese that will help the IRO and ultimately shareholders understand the agreements better.

Providing documents that are easier to read (and ultimately understand) may also help reduce the number of calls to the IR department.

Another way that IROs can help reduce the number of calls about executive compensation is to have proactive conversations with shareholders throughout the year that may help alleviate contentious issues before or even during the annual meeting.

Companies should also not forget the power of their IR website.  Adding any compensation-related questions from shareholders to the “FAQ’ section can also mitigate the number of calls. Also providing a direct link to the CD&A as posted on Edgar in the corporate governance section is another way of being transparent about executive compensation.

Companies could even go as far as incorporating a scorecard that explicitly outlines how effectively the company is executing its strategy that reinforces compensation targets with corporate metrics otherwise disclosed.

Coincidentally, in conjunction with the approval of say on pay, as reported by Jeff Morgan, President & CEO of NIRI in a recent edition of NIRI IRWeekly:

The CFA Institute, with the assistance of NIRI and other related organizations, released a “Compensation Discussion and Analysis Template” to help companies prepare their CD&A.

I agree with him 100% when he goes on to say that ‘IR professionals should become conversant in the CD&A and part of the internal strategy discussion for developing and improving this disclosure. The CD&A needs to be a cornerstone of your compensation-related shareholder outreach, so important in the wake of Dodd-Frank mandated say-on-pay. This is an opportunity to show the value of IR within your company – take advantage of it.’

To view some (what the working group who developed the template deem are good) examples of companies that provide CD&As I also encourage you to read a piece written by Dominic Jones of IR Web Report on the CDA Template.

I think the piece sums up the value of the CD&A and how it can help IROs address say on pay nicely with a quote from the working group:

As many stakeholders and markets around the world continue to scrutinize executive pay practices, we hope that this project will improve understanding, serve as a global model for improved investor communications on this important issue, and elevate compensation disclosure beyond an exercise in legal compliance.

Taking the time to work with the corporate secretary to gain a complete understanding of the compensation agreements as well as using tools such as the IR website and the new CD&A template can help IROs effectively communicate say on pay to shareholders.

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Thanks to @bropo; @robberick; @TrevorHeisler; @stefanpetter; @irwebreport; @canicoll; @DWalshIR; @Box_IR; @fredmcclimans; @InsuranceIR for making it out today!

Q1: New rules see Corp Gov & IR converging eg. CSR reporting demands for IRO: http://bit.ly/by0EbC. Should AR and CSR be combined into one report? How should IROs handle?

@fredmcclimans: ‘Interesting awakening that seems to be occurring regarding “voluntary vs compulsory” compliance. I “tend” to be supportive.’
@stefanpetter: ‘Many companies are thinking about it, but often their governance isn’t “integrated” .
@q4websystems: ‘@stefanpetter good point. This is a good opp for IROs to help take control of messaging tho IMO.’
@fredmcclimans: ‘ The issue of a single report, however, is one of practicalities. Coordination is a must, integration, however, I can’t speak to.’
@ q4websystems: ‘@fredmcclimans co’s should be proactive & do b4 it’s compulsory IMO.’

@ stefanpetter: ‘Integrated reporting must clearly integrate economic value creation with CSR.’
@q4websystems: ‘Agree, which makes it tough 4 mgmt 2 see value in reporting on it.’
@stefanpetter: ‘@q4websystems In some cases, it is easier, e.g. for CO2 emissions, energy savings, etc… But harder for other issues.’
@stefanpetter: ‘Few companies have succeeded in integrating the financial effects of CSR. At least, I haven’t found any good examples.’
@Box_IR: ‘: For co’s that it makes sense do; for co’s that it doesn’t make sense: don’t, not a 1 size fits all matter.

@fredmcclimans: ‘@q4websystems Since U mentioned CSR, here’s a 2009 post “Can Finance Managers Count CSR?” http://bit.ly/3GUVBr.’
@q4websystems: ‘@fredmcclimans thnx. I’m sure we have talked about how to define CSR in a previous #irchat, not sure we were successful?’
@fredmcclimans: ‘@q4websystems No, not very successful, which is why there needs to be some type of agreed minimum “universal” included items.
@ q4websystems: ‘@fredmcclimans yes – do u think co’s r holding back because they have no guidance on what shld be included?’
@fredmcclimans: ‘@q4websystems I think that until #CSR has a minimum accepted definition, no sane IRO would try to compare apples to oranges.’
@q4websystems: ‘@fredmcclimans fair enough. A collaboration/consensus is needed at least among sectors.’
@trevorheisler: “Can Finance Managers Count CSR?” Absolutely. CSR initiatives can result in cost savings, and for some, generate revenue. ‘
@stefanpetter: ‘And investors realize this RT @trevorheisler: CSR initiatives can result in cost savings, and for some, generate revenue.’

@stefanpetter: ‘@q4websystems Also, some businesses benefit directly from focus on a sustainable society, e.g. engineering consultancies.’
@trevorheisler: ‘ @stefanpetter Some companies have called out certain CSR initiatives as key strategic priorities for their organization.’
@trevorheisler: ‘ If it doesn’t make sense to do a combined report, at least have sections of the corp website dedicated to governance & CSR.’
@q4websystems: @TrevorHeisler we are seeing more co’s with a dedicated CSR section on their website.’
@stefanpetter: ‘@trevorheisler Yes, e.g. climate change. It’s easy to tie that challenge to the core business in the energy sector. Others?’
@robberick: ‘ I would look at Eaton Corp’s annual report.’
@irwebreport: ‘All material info should be included on AR, so if ESG is material it’s in. Materiality is key.’
@bropo: ‘I think there’s a big advantage to companies that include both. First year, statement of intent. Subsequent years, follow up. ‘
@stefanpetter: ‘@irwebreport Yes. I think more companies should drop separate CSR reports.’
@fayfeeney: ‘@stefanpetter Baxter Environmental Financial Statement. An example: measuring prevention’s success. Not easy. http://ow.ly/38eFM.’

@trevorheisler: ‘ @stefanpetter Seafood companies. Their future outlooks r very much dependent on the sustainability of fisheries & aquaculture.’
@bropo: ‘And oil spills. RT @trevorheisler: ‘@stefanpetter Seafood companies. Future outlooks dependent on sustainability.’

@bropo: ‘I don’t think any mgt team would take a hit from “we’re still seeking to understand how to share but here’s where we’ll start”.
@fredmcclimans: ‘@bropo They many not take a “hit”, but it will impact the bottom line and could be confusing for many trying to compare Co’s $ #’s.’
@bropo: ‘@fredmcclimans That’s why you don’t begin with numbers. And when you do, you state them clearly & watch how analysts integrate.’
@robberick: ‘Cos have to connect the dots between #CRS efforts and strategy/results.’
@robberick: ‘Cos have to give investors a reason to care about #CSR efforts, otherwise it’s just “nice” news. #IR team should address this.’
@bropo: ‘And start to est. relevant metrics.’ RT @robberick: give investors a reason to care about #CSR–IR team should address this
@fredmcclimans: ‘@bropo I was thinking of a more discrete publication/breakout, rather than bundled/buried in an AnnReport or Call Transcript. ‘
@fredmcclimans: ‘@Bropo Ooops – just saw the post from @InsuranceIR “vision belongs in the 10-K/10-Q (SEC wants it there). Permanent record!”
@bropo: ‘Shd be comm in multiple ways. RT @fredmcclimans: thinking of a more discrete pub, rather than buried in an AR or Call Xscript.’
@bropo: ‘Def. But can/shd be other places too. RT @fredmcclimans: “vision belongs in the 10-K/10-Q (SEC wants it there). Permanent record!”

Q2: NIRI Study re: guidance: http://bit.ly/cQ7bo8; what should govern guidance policy?

@q4websystems: ‘ NIRI study found 90% co’s provide forward-looking guidance; 81% provide on @ least 1 fin. measure; 48% on non-fin.’
@bropo: ‘ Sanity and realism should govern guidance!’
@irwebreport: ‘I don’t put much stock in NIRI surveys. There’s a gulf btwn what they say and what they actually do.’
@trevorheisler: ‘Providing non-financial metrics can help investors gauge a company’s performance/progress.’
@DWalshIR: ‘ Companies can poll investors to ask which metrics would be helpful to provide guidance on.’
@trevorheisler: ‘ Disclosing corporate milestones & other objectives within context of long-term strategy allows investors to measure progress.’
@fredmcclimans: ‘@trevorheisler Totally agree – disclosing milestones against a corporate vision/map is very powerful, provided it is non-$$ based.’
@robberick: ‘Problem comes from the fact mgmt’s don’t have clarity on milestones and often wrestle w/BOD on l-t strategy.’
@InsuranceIR: ‘@robberick: Too many mgmts can’t/won’t articulate strategy. Easiest to say “just believe us, it will be xx cents” or whatever.’
@fredmcclimans: ‘Path of least effort>RT @InsuranceIR Too many mgmts cant/wont articulate strat. Easiest 2 say “just believe us, it will be xx cents”.’
@bropo: ‘This is where IR should take a page from PR’s book: 1st u tell em what ur gonna do, then u do it, then u remind them u did it.’
@irwebreport: ‘Guidance should be about sharing management’s thinking about the future, not about predicting specific results.’
@bropo: ‘Bingo! RT @irwebreport: Guidance shd b about sharing mgt’s thinking about the future, not about predicting specific results.’
@fredmcclimans: ‘@irwebreport Yup, guidance should be about mgmts thoughts on future. Wonder how many publish/archive these “thoughts”?
@bropo: ‘US companies file; shouldn’t be a surprise.’
@robberick: ‘@irwebreport thou scale/context is important when painting a picture of the “desired state”.
@bropo: ‘@irwebreport Guidance should definitely include thinking about the future, but some metrics imp.’
@irwebreport: ‘And I predict that 90% of CFO’s will continue to guide with point targets despite the disincentives.’
@InsuranceIR: ‘IMHO, giving specific guidance often leads to “lazy” investors who lack insight into business drivers.’
@robberick: ‘@InsuranceIR not sure I agree re” “lazy” investors… times have changed and #IR needs to connect the dots as much as possible.’
@InsuranceIR: ‘@robberick. Sorry, to be clearer … if mgmt ONLY gives specifics of lots of metrics to avoid strategic vision.’
@bropo: ‘Only if u walk away. RT @InsuranceIR: IMHO giving specific guidance leads to “lazy” investors who lack insight into biz drivers.’
@InsuranceIR: ‘Vision should be in 10-K/10-Q (SEC wants it there). Permanent record!’
needs to connect the dots as much as possible.’
@irwebreport: ‘Agree @InsuranceIR: IMHO, giving specific guidance often leads to “lazy” investors who lack insight into business drivers.’

@q4websystems: Does greater sell-side coverage dictate whether a co should provide guidance?’

@bropo: ‘Coverage or no. RT @q4websystems: Q2: does greater sell-side coverage dictate whether a co should provide guidance?
@trevorheisler:’@q4websystems To the contrary, I believe that increased sell-side coverage decreases the need to provide guidance.’
@bropo: ‘With upheaval, many tech cos. have gone to annual guidance on #’s. Prob if u have trad’l seasonality, frustrating 2 investors.’
@DWalshIR: ‘w/out guidance, sell-side estimates can be all over the map. It also helps to attract coverage.’
@q4websystems: ‘As co’s r often held to anal estimates. RT @DWalshIR: Q2: w/out guid, SS esti can b all over the map. It also helps 2 attract cover.’

@q4websystems: ‘When (if ever) should co’s discontinue guidance?

@robberick: ‘When it’s no longer reliable.’
@DWalshIR: ‘If management’s outlook is cloudy and they are not confident, they should not give guidance.’
@robberick: ‘@DWalshIR though they should explain the change in the terrain and how they’re dealing with it.’
@DWalshIR: ‘@robberick right, and provide non quantitative metrics.’
@bropo: ‘Not on a Q-by-Q basis: decide and stay with it.’
@DWalshIR: ‘And and if ceasing guidance is part of your strategy, give investors several quarters heads up about the change.’
@robberick: ‘Assume mgt/BOD gives u that kind of warning RT @bropo: Agree. RT @DWalshIR: Q2: give investors several qtrs heads up about change.’
@bropo: ‘Needs to be part of strategic IR planning. Communicating Y is critical. RT @robberick: Assume mgt/BOD gives u that kind of warning.’

@q4websystems: ‘It was suggested in the article that fin. guidance can counterbalance analyst estimates. wdyt?’

@bropo: ‘Shouldn’t be so far off. RT @q4websystems: Q2: article suggested that fin. guidance can counterbalance analyst estimates. wdyt?
@q4websystems: ‘@bropo Agree anal. estimates shldn’t b that far off. Value in speaking regularly 2 investors 2 ensure they get investment prop.’
@stefanpetter: ‘Helping analysts and investors build a deep understanding of the drivers of the business is more important .’
@canicoll: ‘Hi All, @bropo, I would listen to Fin Guidance IF it was consistent over time, vs analyst estimates if they were inconsistent.’
@q4websystems: ‘@canicoll consistency definitely important.’
@bropo: ‘Mgt death by inconsistence! RT @canicoll: would listen to Guidance IF it was consistent OT vs analyst est if they were inconsistent.’
@irwebreport: ‘Analysts who are out of sync with consensus either become Heroes or unemployed. Let market sort them out.’
@bropo: ‘And mgt out of synch have same fate. RT @irwebreport: Q2 Analysts out of sync with consensus either become Heroes or unemployed.’
@bropo: ‘For guidance to be completely off means mgt is out of sync with their biz/industry. Def. shd pull back on industry confusion.’
@canicoll: ‘@bropo – Out of Sync: agreed, or blind to sales channel, customer conditions. Both are “bad”. ‘
@bropo: Very very bad! RT @canicoll: @bropo – Out of Sync: agreed, or blind to sales channel, customer conditions. Both are “bad”.

Don’t forget to join us every Thursday @ 11:00 a.m. EDT. In the meantime, if you have any questions you’d like to submit for an upcoming #irchat, DM  @q4websystems or email sherylj@q4websystems.com.

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We are pleased to announce that we have partnered with Virtua Research to offer analysts and sophisticated investors the Interactive Analyst Center – a new standard of rendering a company’s financial data.

The Interactive Analyst Center was originally designed at the request of Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited with the purpose of providing investors and analysts the most advanced new suite of interactive financials and graphing tools, all embedded in a single, logical location — the investor section of a company’s website.

Some of the KEY FEATURES include:

• Excel like Presentation – for ease of use and accessibility
• Multiple Annual and Quarterly Data – for simplified, more contextual investor understanding
• Export to Excel – statements and data can be exported for simplified model building
• Interactive Graphs – build, select and graph interactive operational and financial ratios
• Links to Actual Filing Data – right-click any line item to view source documents
• Ratio Descriptions –  left-click any ratio for more detailed  information and formula

There are also many BENEFITS to making this feature available on your company website as it will:

• Increase your company valuation with best practices transparent disclosure
• Offer the interactivity of exporting to Excel up to 5 years of aggregated financial data
• Save time, effort and money educating existing and potential investors
• Improve control of your financial message for more consistent investor modeling
• Update your quarterly financials in real time for conference call “housekeeping” questions
• Provide new methods of visualizing financial relationships with interactive graphing tools
• Seamlessly integrates into any corporate or investor website

Click the button below to view a live demo.

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The CRA is in its 58th year and presents awards for excellence in financial reporting, corporate governance disclosure, electronic disclosure and sustainable development reporting to companies listed on the TSX and to federal Crown corporations.  Separate excellence and honourable mention awards are also presented to reports that are judged to be the best, regardless of industry sector, in each of these four judging areas.  Lastly, among the industry winners, one company is given the overall award of excellence for corporate reporting.

A lot of the companies were repeat winners from last year and Q4 would like to take this opportunity to extend our congratulations to all of them!

Awards of Excellence for Large and Small Federal Crown Corporations:

• Large Crown winner — Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
• Small Crown winner — Telefilm Canada

Awards of Excellence for Corporate Reporting: Industry winners:

• Communications & Media – TELUS Corporation (’08 winner)

• Consumer Products – Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited (’08 winner)
• Diversified Industries – SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. (’08 winner)
• Financial Services – TD Bank Financial Group
• Forest Products – Cascades Inc.
• Life Sciences/Technology – MDS Inc. (’08 winner)
• Mining – PotashCorp (’08 winner)
• Oil & Gas – Nexen Inc. (’08 winner)
• Real Estate/Utilities & Pipelines – TransAlta Corporation (’08 winner in Utilities & Pipelines)

These industry winners received the highest average rankings in the four judging categories: financial reporting, corporate governance disclosure and electronic disclosure and sustainable development reporting.

An Award of Excellence was selected in each of the four judging categories and an Honourable Mention was given for corporate governance disclosure, sustainable development reporting and electronic disclosure.

The judging category winners are:

FINANCIAL REPORTING:

• Award of Excellence – PotaschCorp.
• Honourable Mention – Bombardier Inc.

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE DISCLOSURE:

• Award of Excellence – Nexen Inc.
• Honourable Mention – TD Bank Financial Group

ELECTRONIC DISCLOSURE:

• Award of Excellence – PotashCorp.
• Honourable Mention – Talisman Energy Inc.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT REPORTING:

• Award of Excellence – Suncor Energy Inc.
• Honourable Mention – Potash Corp.

The Overall Award of Excellence for Corporate Reporting was presented to the most outstanding industry winner in 2009 – PotashCorp.

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