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.
