During mid-September I had the privilege of speaking at the ‘Essentials of IR’ event in Vancouver and took the opportunity to sit in on a number of the other sessions. I was struck by the enthusiasm of the attendees who, by an informal show of hands, indicated that roughly two-thirds of them had been in the IR function for two years or less. I spoke with a number of them regarding the challenges of being an IRO in the current difficult capital markets, with many expressing the sentiment that they had taken away very useful and tangible insights from the ‘Essentials of IR’ event.
 

I continue to be amazed at the rapid changes within the IR discipline and this is evidenced by the ever-changing curriculum for this event. When I began in IR back in the early ‘90s the major focus was on returning phone calls, sending faxes, handling occasional e-mail traffic and composing and issuing disclosure documents. Many of these tasks remain important to the function today, but now we face a much broader set of sophisticated stakeholders and numerous means by which to communicate with them i.e. social media.

The third notable personal takeaway was the expertise and passion of those presenting – who knew that NI 43-101 could be so interesting even for an old dog like me! The passion and humour of the senior IROs who spoke was superb, as they not only imparted wisdom on their respective subjects, but also were excellent ambassadors for the IR profession and CIRI. My only regret was having to leave prior to the BC Chapter Annual Meeting and social, which I understand topped off this very successful two-day event.

There is, within the CIRI membership, a tremendous amount of intellectual capital and this is not only evident through formal events of this kind, but also through initiatives like the mentoring program that several Chapters run. I encourage you to volunteer to participate in CIRI programs, as one of our key strengths is the extensive skill set of our membership and thus our ability to learn from one another, particularly as the IR profession continues to evolve.