Bridging the gap between public relations and investor relations : a survey among management students

Abstract

In today's competitive and challenging South African organisational environment, investor relations (IR) is delegated to either the accounting or the corporate communication (Public Relations) department. Do accountants have the necessary communication skills, however? Conversely, few communication practitioners have a working knowledge of accounting. This indicates a definite gap in the market place for IR practitioners with an academic background in both these fields. The main objectives of this study were to understand the theoretical definitions of public relations (PR), financial communication, accounting and IR; to determine the perceptions of accounting and communication students regarding whose responsibility IR is; and to determine these students' opinions as to whether IR practitioners should have both accounting and communication knowledge. The study was a quantitative, formal, descriptive study conducted under field conditions. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed among accounting sciences and communication management students to determine the differences in their opinions regarding whose responsibility IR should be and what knowledge and skills an IR practitioner should have. Using a k-sample chi-square test, it was determined that there was a significant difference in the perceptions of students regarding whose responsibility IR is. A one-way ANOVA test indicated that students' opinions do not differ significantly on the need for IR practitioners to have knowledge of both Accounting Sciences and Communication Management.