ABSTRACT
As investor relations officers and heads of communication of listed companies begin each work day, there is probably one certainty: none of them will be thinking about the theory of communication and applied finance as they plan out their day and go about the many tasks in front of them. Yet, while many of them may not realize it, their priorities are shaped by the signposts of the many aspects of theory that come from those disciplines. The terms they use, the things they see as important and the goals they have — nearly all these have their origins in theory that has developed round conveying messages to a marketplace that has an influence on the future development of their corporations. These communications professionals also would have an innate sense of what works and what contributes to successful outcomes, yet they may wonder whether there could be an objective template that is a guide to effectiveness in financial and investor communication. Experience builds familiarity with tried and true techniques but experiences can be individual and the outcomes of specific trials by fire. It may seem impractical to expect an all-encompassing template might be created from a web of theory and research around the intersecting fields of finance and communication. Nevertheless there is some merit in collecting the primary threads together from theory that substantiates the value that comes from certain actions in the realm of investor relations.
