Scrutinising the future of corporate reporting - High profile line up for new MRS Conference

Date: 24 October 2002

Post-Enron, are corporate reporting regulations tight enough? How transparent ought companies to be in presenting their results and reputations to the public? Which other market-related indicators could contribute to measurement of business performance and how far should marketing and intangibles be reported? Crucially, what effect is increased reporting of other functions likely to have on business balance sheets?

These are amongst some of the complex issues due to be discussed at a new half-day conference to be hosted by The Market Research Society (MRS). 'Corporate Reporting and Performance Measurement: The Challenge' is due to take place at One Great George Street, London, on 6 December, 2002 and will include contributions from seven high profile speakers from the marketing, media, PR and business sectors.

Sir Paul Judge, Vice-President, The Marketing Council, will chair the conference, whose impressive speaker line up includes Dianne Thompson, Chief Executive, Camelot Group plc and President of the Chartered Institute of Marketing; Jon Aarons, President, The Institute of Public Relations and Director of Financial Dynamics; Patience Wheatcroft, Business Editor, The Times; Professor Robert Worcester, Chairman, MORI; Sir Anthony Cleaver, Chairman, Council for Excellence in Leadership and Management; Dr Colin Reeves, Director of the Accountancy Foundation Review Board; Tim Ambler, Senior Fellow, London Business School.

With the measurement of business performance at the top of the international business agenda and accounting and auditing under unprecedented scrutiny, the seven speakers will examine a variety of other indicators of performance measurement which may help to contribute to enhanced corporate reporting. These include the value of corporate social reporting, the role of PR in reporting corporate reputations, the issue of regulation and auditor independence and the potential contribution of market research to ensuring objective measurement.

Commenting on the conference, Sir Paul Judge, conference Chair, said "This conference will provide a forum for the discussion of the next stage in corporate reporting. With marketing measures such as the number of customers, like-for-like sales growth and market share frequently influencing company valuations, we need to determine the corporate framework in which this information should be published and audited.

Sir Paul added, "Just how much companies should reveal about themselves is a complex and sensitive matter and this conference promises to shed new light on many of the most difficult issues. All of the speakers are highly experienced and well qualified to provide valuable insight into the latest initiatives in this area - what they have to say will be of interest to a wide spectrum of individuals involved in this field."

The conference is expected to be attended by a large number of senior delegates, including marketers, PR practitioners, accountants, company secretaries, lawyers, journalists, investor relations specialists and market researchers. Following the presentations, which will begin at 9.00am and run through to 1.15pm, a buffet lunch will be provided to allow the audience an opportunity to network.

'Corporate Reporting and Performance Measurement: The Challenge' will run from 8.30am - 2.00pm on Friday, 6 December, 2002 at One Great George Street, London, SW1. For more information or to book a place, please contact Michelle Cecil at The MRS on 020 7490 4911 or visit The MRS website at www.mrs.org.uk.

Notes for Editors

The Market Research Society (MRS) is the world's largest international membership organisation for professional researchers and others involved or interested in market, social or opinion research.

For more information on The MRS, its activities and training programme, please visit its website at www.mrs.org.uk.

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