Investor Relations and ESG Reporting in a Regulatory Perspective

Poul Lykkesfeldt is managing partner, senior adviser and founder of Reliance A/S, a leading Danish financial PR and communications firm with an international client base. Poul has over 35 years of experience in the fields of investor relations, financial transactional PR, investor activism, corporate/ESG communication and media relations related to listed and private companies, and private equity firms. Poul has previously served as head of IR, and deputy head of corporate communications, of Novo Nordisk; as a top-rated senior equity analyst with ABN AMRO; and as an investment banker and corporate finance adviser in London (UBS) and Copenhagen (KPMG Corporate Finance). Today, Poul advises international and domestic clients within financial PR/IR in connection with transactions, annual reports and ESG reports, as well as crises communications and media relations/training. Finally, Poul is a trusted adviser for company boards and the C-suite. Poul holds a M.Sc. (Econ.) from the Copenhagen Business School, Denmark, and a PED from IMD, Switzerland. Laurits Louis Kjaergaard is strategy and business development manager at I&T, one of Denmark's most prominent independent asset managers. Having lived in six countries, Laurits has held finance and consulting positions at leading buy-side, sell-side, and regulatory advisory firms, including ABG Sundal Collier, PwC, Interogo (Inter IKEA Holding) and Danske Bank. During his career, Laurits has both worked with and prepared traditional company equity research, as well as ESG research reports, on listed companies in his earlier capacity as an equity research analyst. Prior to this, he advised companies on the implementation of selected EU legislation. Laurits holds a M.Sc. (Finance) from the University of Liechtenstein, a B.Sc. Business and Sociology from the Copenhagen Business School, Denmark, and a finance certification from the London School of Economics.

Introduction.- Section 1: The financial markets: An overview.- Chapter 1.1: The benefits and drawbacks of a stock market listing.- Chapter 1.2: The formation of stock prices.- Chapter 1.3: Ethics in the financial markets - why a solid IR framework is key.- Chapter 1.4: Understanding valuation methodology of the financial markets.- Chapter 1.5: Integrating ESG in equity research.- Chapter 1.6: Valuation methodology from the perspective of different investor types.- Section 2: The participants of the financial markets.- Chapter 2.1: Understanding the financial markets' stakeholders and their motivation.- Chapter 2.2: Understanding the role of institutional investors.- Chapter 2.3: How to communicate with retail investors.- Chapter 2.4: The sell-side/equity analysts, brokers and corporate access.- Chapter 2.5: Corporate finance advisers.- Chapter 2.6: Considering the role of non-financial markets stakeholders.- Section 3: Major legislation themes related to the European financial markets.- Chapter 3.1: How is legislation implemented on the European financial markets?.- Chapter 3.2: Learning from the impact on financial markets of recent legislation.- Chapter 3.3: How to optimise IR within the existing legal framework.- Chapter 3.4: The new wave of ESG regulatory framework.- Section 4: Achieving a fair valuation of the company through best-practice IR.- Chapter 4.1: The IR function.- Chapter 4.2: Deciding on IR ambitions and its success factors.- Chapter 4.3: IR within the organisation.- Chapter 4.4: IR's responsibilities of implementing policies and planning ahead.- Chapter 4.5: IR tools to engage a company's stakeholders.- Chapter 4.6: Managing the expectation of the financial community.- Chapter 4.7: Embracing the digital world of IR activities.- Section 5: IR in special situations.- Chapter 5.1: Preparation of difference types of IR-related contingencies.- Chapter 5.2: Developing a take-over response manual.- Chapter 5.3: Valuation in a takeover situation and strategic alternatives.- Chapter 5.4: Shareholder engagement and monitoring market activity.- Chapter 5.5: Investor activism.- Chapter 5.6: The company - before, during and after an IPO.- Section 6 Embracing non-financial/ESG reporting.- Chapter 6.1: The origin of ESG.- Chapter 6.2 Stakeholder capitalism and sustainable leadership.- Chapter 6.3 Institutional investors are embracing ESG strategies.- Chapter 6.4 Consideration sustainable finance disclosure regulation (SFDR).- Section 7 The framework of best-in-class non-financial reporting.- Chapter 7.1. Implementing taxonomy.- Chapter 7.2. Implementing non-financial reporting standards.- Section 8 Preparing the company's first ESG report.- Chapter 8.1. For the first non-financial report: a checklist to get into gear.- Chapter 8.2. The importance of mobilising ESG with incentives.- Section 9 Aiming for best-in-class ESG reporting.- Chapter 9.1: Taking already implemented non-financial reports a step further.- Chapter 9.2: Encompassing ESG rating agencies.- Section 10 Future trends of financial and non-financial reporting.- Chapter 10.1: Best-practice IR is about being at the forefront.- Chapter 10.2: Is the next decade scary or exciting?.- Postscript.- Summary of facts and best practice.- Overview of Nasdaq's ESG reporting guidelines.