Subject to risks and uncertainties, here’s our new IRO

By Dominic Jones

HERE’s a great example of “over-disclaimering,” which is the senseless practice of slapping disclaimers on things that don’t need them.

The most common example is when companies include disclaimers about forward-looking statements (FLS) in news releases that don’t include any forward-looking statements.

Sometimes the disclaimer portion of the news release is longer than the information being provided. All this does is inflate companies’ compliance and disclosure costs and fatten the PR wire services’ bottom lines.

But the release below made me laugh out loud. It’s an appointment notice for an IRO. The forward-looking statements in the release are that Mr. Entricken will take the post on June 1, 2007 and that he will be based in Amsterdam, reporting the the CEO and CFO.

Of course, that’s all subject to “certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from what is contemplated by the forward-looking statements.” Those factors might be, but are not limited to:

• General economic and market conditions (heck, things must be really bad if they can’t commit to employing this guy over the next couple weeks);
• The “behavior of” customers, suppliers, and competitors (I guess they could riot in protest or something if he’s that unpopular);
• Technological developments (maybe they’ll invent a robotic IRO by June 1, who knows?);
• The implementation and execution of new ICT systems or outsourcing (Yup, your job’s going to India);
• Legal, tax, and regulatory rules (is there a new head tax on IROs or are they about to be banned?); and,
• Risks related to mergers, acquisitions, and divestments. (I suppose this might change things for a new IR appointee.)

And, of course, the “foregoing list of factors should not be construed as exhaustive.”

Sorry, Mr. Entricken, but this is funny. Of one thing I am sure, though, Wolters Kluwer definitely needs someone in IR who knows when to include FLS disclaimers and when to leave them out.

The complete release, and additional commentary on another oddity, follows:

Wolters Kluwer Appoints Kevin Entricken as Vice President of Investor Relations

AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS–(MARKET WIRE)–May 7, 2007 — Wolters Kluwer, a leading global information services and publishing company, announced today that it has appointed Kevin Entricken as its new Vice President of Investor Relations. Mr. Entricken succeeds Ms. Oya Yavuz in the position as of June 1, 2007.

Mr. Entricken, a Certified Public Accountant, started his career with KPMG. Since 2003, Mr. Entricken has been Chief Financial Officer of Wolters Kluwer Law & Business, part of the Tax, Accounting & Legal division. In this role, he was instrumental in restructuring the Legal business together with Law & Business CEO Bob Becker. Before joining Wolters Kluwer, Mr. Entricken served as Vice President of Finance at EMI Music Publishing and at Reed Business Information, where he succeeded in turning around and divesting the travel business, and integrating the construction business acquisition. Mr. Entricken brings to his new role a deep knowledge of Wolters Kluwer’s business combined with extensive financial experience. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Montclair State University.

Mr. Entricken will be based at Wolters Kluwer’s headquarters in Amsterdam, reporting to CEO Nancy McKinstry and CFO Boudewijn Beerkens. Starting June 1, he can be contacted by phone at +31 20 60 70 407 and by email at ir@wolterskluwer.com.

About Wolters Kluwer

Wolters Kluwer is a leading global information services and publishing company. The company provides products and services for professionals in the health, tax, accounting, corporate, financial services, legal and regulatory sectors. Wolters Kluwer has 2006 annual revenues of EUR 3.7 billion, employs approximately 19,900 people worldwide and maintains operations across Europe, North America, and Asia Pacific. Wolters Kluwer is headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Its shares are quoted on the Euronext Amsterdam (WKL) and are included in the AEX and Euronext 100 indices. For more information, visit www.wolterskluwer.com.

Forward-looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements may be identified by words such as “expect,” “should,” “could,” “shall,” and similar expressions. Wolters Kluwer cautions that such forward-looking statements are qualified by certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from what is contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Factors which could cause actual results to differ from these forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, general economic conditions; conditions in the markets in which Wolters Kluwer is engaged; behavior of customers, suppliers, and competitors; technological developments; the implementation and execution of new ICT systems or outsourcing; and legal, tax, and regulatory rules affecting Wolters Kluwer’s businesses, as well as risks related to mergers, acquisitions, and divestments. In addition, financial risks such as currency movements, interest rate fluctuations, liquidity, and credit risks could influence future results. The foregoing list of factors should not be construed as exhaustive. Wolters Kluwer disclaims any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Copyright © Hugin ASA 2007. All rights reserved.

Oh, and one more thing. How can Hugin ASA, which is a PR wire service now owned by NYSE Euronext, have copyright on this news release? They didn’t write it. They didn’t pay for it. News releases are in the public domain. Or don’t they want anyone to cover their news?

I don’t know anymore! More nonsense from the wacky world of investor relations.

Please Support Our Work
Email your friends about us. Subscribe to our paid publication Online IR Trends Quarterly. Get us to recommend improvements to your IR website (we're really good at it).