NEXT to annual reports and other major regulatory filings, investor presentations are probably a public company's most important means of communication with investors and analysts.

For evidence of this you just need to look at the results from the most recent survey by AIMR on Internet use by its members, who are mostly buy- and sell-side analysts and portfolio managers. A synopsis of the survey appears in the Trends & Surveys section of this site.

So it's not surprising then that an ever-increasing number of IR websites are providing access to archives of management speeches and presentations.

The problem, though, is that few sites make it easy for people to actually use these important resources. Most companies are providing archived presentations in formats that are slow, cumbersome and frustrating to use.

As a result, companies are squandering the opportunity to help investors gain a deeper understanding of their core business strengths and future prospects.

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