Investor Relations & Financial Communication

Course Director: Johan Graaf

Purpose

Every listed company has a story to tell the capital market, and someone has to tell it. Investor Relations (IR) sits where finance, strategy and communication meet. IR professionals translate a company's performance, strategy and prospects into a message that analysts, fund managers and shareholders can understand, trust and act on. When it works, it can lower the cost of capital and build lasting credibility. When it fails, a single quarterly report, earnings call or poorly handled crisis can wipe billions off a company's market value.

This course prepares you for a working life where you are on either the sending or the receiving end of that communication: as an IR officer, CFO or communications advisor, as an analyst or investor who has to judge what companies are really saying, or in corporate reporting, accounting and advisory roles. It also provides practical tools for financial communication that are relevant to a broader range of professionals (e.g., controllers, auditors and executives).

Content

The course is organised into four modules:

1. The Investor Relations Function: what IR professionals actually do, how the role has developed historically, the regulation that governs it, the ethical dilemmas it raises, and what research and practice tell us about IR that works.
2. Accounting from a User Perspective: how investors and analysts read, interpret and use financial information, and how corporate disclosures move markets and shape perceptions.
3. Financial Communication: crafting effective messages, adapting them to different capital market audiences, and designing communication strategies that hold up under scrutiny.
4. Contemporary Issues in IR: the challenges reshaping the profession today, such as crisis communication, new regulation, new technology including AI, and sustainability/ESG reporting.

Throughout the course, we draw on current academic research on investor relations, financial communication and how accounting information is used.

You will learn from academic research and from people who do this for a living. The course is informed and supported by an advisory group of leading IR directors in Sweden and internationally.

Format & structure

The course combines lectures, seminars and workshops, with guest lectures from practice woven in throughout. Two group projects based on real companies run in parallel with the teaching, allowing students to apply new insights as they go. The case companies change each year.

Group Project 1: IR Strategy (25%). You analyse and develop the IR strategy of a case company, delivered as a written report and a presentation.

Group Project 2: Contemporary IR Issue (25%). You take on a current challenge facing IR professionals, delivered as a written report and a presentation.

The course runs at 50% pace from late March to May. It is a core elective in the MSc in Accounting, Valuation and Financial Management and is open to students from other MSc programmes and to exchange students, with about 60 places.

Course Administrator: Christina.Ekelin@hhs.se

After completing the course, the student should be able to:

1. Understand the role and development of the Investor Relations function in listed firms, in light of academic research and professional practice.
2. Evaluate the effectiveness and credibility of a firm's Investor Relations strategy and activities.
3. Develop financial communication and Investor Relations materials tailored to specific capital market audiences.
4. Understand and discuss contemporary challenges in Investor Relations.

Working knowledge of accounting concepts and practice.

Course book:

• Heath, C. & Heath, D., Made to Stick, Random House, 2007/2008/2010.

Articles:

The course also uses current academic research on investor relations, financial communication and how accounting information is used. A list of articles will be published closer to the start of the course.

Final Exam (50%). An individual written exam covering the full course.

NB! The exam is an open-book exam, where you are permitted to bring printed copies of the book and articles. You will, however, not be able to access digital copies of the literature during the exam. Make sure to purchase the printed book if you wish to access it during the exam.

Find the course schedule in TimeEdit

Have you been granted educational support because of a documented disability? If so, please contact the course director as soon as possible so that adequate accommodations can be made.

Contact specialneeds@hhs.se if you have questions about being granted educational support or need a copy of your educational support certificate.

For more information, visit the Specific Educational Needs page on the Student Hub (login required).