CIRI09 vs NIRI09: A Split Decision

The zu crew spent the last two weeks on the road attending both the annual NIRI and CIRI conferences. It was a long haul but a productive and fun experience. The zu team has attended the annual CIRI Conference for the past six years while this year represented only our second presence at NIRI. I found that both conferences explored similar topics and faced similar challenges given the current economic recession. But, if I was to compare the two based on value and relevance I think there are some differences. Before I get into the comparison, I think it is important to preface my analysis by stating any event is what you make of it; the zu experience may not necessarily reflect the opinions of everybody and I would be glad to hear what others think who attended either NIRI or CIRI conferences. Comments are welcome!

Value
Given reduced budgets and tighter cash flow at most companies this year it was understandable that attendance at both conferences was at its lowest in years. NIRI had around 700 attendees and CIRI had about 200. The proportion of vendors to IR professionals was fairly high since the drop in IR professionals was more pronounced than the drop in vendors. I believe the lower attendance has both pros and cons; on the pro side it makes for a more intimate experience and the people attending are serious about being there due to having to justify the expense; on the con side there is less opportunity for networking and the challenges for vendors like zu are obvious (we made the most of our investment by pre-booking as many meetings as possible anticipating exhibit hall traffic would be fair at best).

Both conferences shared some similar topics but due to NIRI’s larger size they had the edge over CIRI because of more sessions on more topics. After what has been a bitter winter and cold spring in most of Canada, I think most would agree going to south Florida outweighs the cool Canadian west coast. Given the larger breadth of learning opportunities and chance to soak up some sun I found it most surprising that attending NIRI was cheaper than CIRI. If I had the choice to only go to only one conference based on budget, the decision would be simple. In fact, there were a number of eastern Canadian IR professionals attending NIRI for this exact reason—value for the money. Early bird registration and exhibit fees were lower at NIRI compared to CIRI (excluding exchange rate).

Relevance
I was thankful for the handful of sessions that were provided at both NIRI and CIRI regarding web disclosure and technology; they also appeared well-attended. But as far as the importance of the conferences and the opportunity they provided attendees, I think both suffered from a lack of interesting program offerings. I’m biased, but I think the recent events surrounding web disclosure, XBRL, and the evolving role of media to engage investors more effectively by better utilizing technology could have been better addressed. I noticed a large shift moving to the IRO’s responsibility as the Internet’s role regarding real-time information distribution becomes more powerful. There is an increased sense of urgency for IR professionals to deal with issues along with more and more regulations that are counter productive to being more responsive. It’s a difficult position to be in and traditional methods of communications may no longer suffice. The need to be transparent, provide investor’s value by being a resource, and taking a proactive, progressive approach with communications are key to gaining the trust of investors and good fodder for session topics.

Aside from the conferences’ agenda, I think that on-demand access to information via webcasts, local chapter events, and accessibility of information on the Internet is making the attendance to physical conferences less important. In order for these conferences to attract attendees, I think not only will the economy need to improve but both NIRI and CIRI will need to reconsider the value they provide and the format it is delivered in.

Summary
Given the size and location, I would tip my hat to NIRI09 as the more valuable and relevant of the two conferences. That said, I have a soft spot for my domestic associations and I appreciated the intimacy of CIRI09 and the quality of the conversations we had. We have more awareness and established relationships in the Canadian market so I’m sure this helped immensely, whereas we were only on our second date with the US market [she’s a bit reluctant, having just come out of a bad relationship, figuratively speaking]. Overall, I am confident both associations will make adjustments to attract back attendees by offering more value and providing more thought provoking topics in new and interesting ways. Afterall, the times they are a changin’.