Latest news with #IROs
Business Wire
08-07-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Q4 Revolutionizes Investor Relations with the Launch of Q, the First IRO Agent™
TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Q4, Inc., the leading provider of IR Ops software, today announced the launch of Q, a groundbreaking AI-powered extension of an investor relations officer's (IRO's) team. This innovative technology integrates seamlessly into the Q4 Platform, empowering investor relations (IR) professionals with real-time insights, intelligent automation and strategic guidance. Meeting a major need There is a paradigm shift in investor relations, and Q is at the core, transforming how IROs manage stakeholder relationships, analyze market data and execute strategic communications. By providing IROs with a secure, AI-powered partner, Q helps teams save significant time, uncover valuable insights and drive impact. 'Q is a game-changer for the investor relations industry,' said Darrell Heaps, CEO of Q4. 'We've created a powerful tool that amplifies IROs' strategic thinking, accelerates decision-making, and enables them to focus on what matters most — building meaningful relationships with their stakeholders.' Advanced capabilities of Q include: Intelligent data analysis and insight: Q instantly analyzes complex financial data, ownership patterns and market trends, providing real-time stock performance monitoring and peer comparisons. This enables IROs to identify trends, anticipate risks and make data-driven decisions. User-configured agents: Q delivers tailored insights that IR teams need most, from tracking institutional investor moments to personalized targeting strategies. For instance, an agent can be set to monitor the company's top 20 stakeholders, instantly alerting IROs to significant changes, such as a 15% position increase by a large investor, and providing suggested talking points for timely outreach. By transforming hours of manual analysis into actionable intelligence, these agents empower IROs to focus on high-impact relationship building that drives superior investor outcomes. Real-time engagement analytics: Q tracks investor engagement automatically, minimizing manual data entry and providing comprehensive analytics across all touchpoints. This allows IROs to measure the effectiveness of their outreach efforts, identify areas for improvement, and refine their engagement strategies. Strategic communication support: Q assists with earnings call preparation, monitors news coverage and media sentiment in real time, and generates executive briefings and stakeholder updates. This enables IROs to craft compelling narratives, stay on top of market developments, and communicate effectively with their stakeholders. Chat: IR pros can ask complex questions like: 'Which investors have shown increased interest since our last earnings call?' and 'How do our ownership trends compare to peers over the last two quarters?' Q delivers instant, tailored answers: analyzing earnings scripts, reports, meeting notes and other uploaded documents, while also tapping into key engagement and market data. IR teams also benefit from built-in IR context, searchable chat history and enterprise-grade security. By leveraging Q's capabilities, IR professionals can: Reduce administrative burdens and accelerate response times through intelligent automation and real-time insights. Enhance strategic decision-making and improve stakeholder engagement through AI-powered analytics and personalized communications. Q is designed to integrate seamlessly into the Q4 Platform, providing: A cohesive and intuitive user experience with real-time insights and analytics across all stakeholders. Automated routine tasks and enhanced collaboration, enabling IROs to focus on high-value activities and drive premium valuations. Q builds on Q4's proven AI capabilities, including earnings script assistance and peer event summaries. Its launch follows recent recognition for Q4's AI innovation — including three Stevie® Award wins in the American Business Awards®, with judges praising Q4 for delivering 'an impressive AI-driven solution that addresses the complexities of investor relations.' To learn more about Q and the future of AI in IR, please visit About Q4 Inc. Q4 Inc. is the leading provider of IR Ops software with the world's largest set of proprietary investor data, purpose-built to remove obstacles between public companies and their investors. Q4 gives investor relations leaders, C-suite executives, and their teams the tools to attract, manage, and understand investors — all in one place. The AI-enabled Q4 Platform boasts applications for website and event management, engagement analytics, and overall lifecycle management, including AI Earnings Co-Pilot to generate draft scripts based on historical data, and AI earnings call summaries to understand peer sentiment. The Q4 Platform also includes a streamlined investor CRM and shareholder intelligence with enhanced metrics to elevate investor targeting strategies. Q4 delivers the data, insights, and workflows that give IR teams the power to focus on what really matters: strategy, relationships, and driving premium valuations for their companies. Headquartered in Toronto, with offices in New York and London, Q4 is a trusted partner to more than 2,600 public companies globally, including many of the most respected brands in the world. The company maintains an award-winning culture where team members grow and thrive. Learn more at
Business Recorder
14-06-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Sales Tax Act: Proposed Section 37AA irks businessmen at large
LAHORE: Proposed insertion of a new Section 37AA in the Sales Tax Act has irked businessmen at large, authorizing an Inland Revenue Officers (IROs) to arrest without warrant based on mere suspicion of tax fraud – a power that invites abuse and harassment. They said the provision creates a surveillance state where businesses operate under the constant threat of arbitrary action. This is not tax policy but a systematic harassment institutionalized by law, they added. As per the provision, an IRO can arrest a person involved in a tax fraud or any offence under the Act with prior approval from the commissioner. If delay may let the person escape or it is impractical to get approval, the officer may arrest without it – but he must immediately inform the commissioner with all relevant facts and grounds for arrest. It may be noted that the Sales Tax Act had empowered the IRO to raid a business place and confiscate books of account, computers and business record in case of tax fraud. But the present one provision has proposed arrest of taxpayer to investigate and get a confession on the assumption that a tax fraud may have happened. They said empowering IROs with such an authority would lead to corrupt practices besides harassment. Mustafa Ashraf, a tax consultant, also pointed out that how a commission can extend approval for arrest a taxpayer when he's not present on the spot simply on the statement of IRO regarding a tax fraud. No procedure has been defined and the commissioner would be authorizing IRO on his verbal briefing on tax fraud, he wondered. Also, he added that how an IRO can arrest a taxpayer first and seek an approval from the commissioner in the follow up. Some other tax experts dubbed the said provision as a complete ambiguity. They said the said provision also lacks the procedure regarding pre or post arrest bail of taxpayers. No such opportunity has been given to taxpayers and IRO has been bestowed with unlimited powers. It is nothing but harassment and sole discretion of IROs. Also, the provision does not suggest action against IROs in case their mala fide is established at the end of the whole exercise, they asserted. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New Research by Datamaran Uncovers Key Trends in First CSRD Reports from Over 300 Companies Across Europe
Datamaran's new report analyzes 11,000+ Impact, Risk, and Opportunity (IRO) statements to reveal how companies are tackling CSRD compliance and sustainability-related priorities NEW YORK and LONDON, May 22, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Datamaran, the global leader in AI-powered risk and governance software, released its latest research report, "CSRD Reports Uncovered: Insights from a Detailed Analysis of 11,000+ IROs from 300+ Companies." This first‑of‑its‑kind study offers a comprehensive view of how companies across Europe are approaching the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), with a deep dive into the topics disclosed and how Impacts, Risks, and Opportunities (IROs) were contextualized and presented. The findings shed light on emerging trends in materiality assessments, how companies are interpreting disclosure requirements, and which topics are driving boardroom agendas. Drawing from Datamaran's proprietary data and expert review, the report surfaces key patterns and gaps to help corporate leaders and practitioners benchmark practices, identify blind spots, and prepare for what's ahead. In addition to macro trends, the report offers sector-specific insights on how companies across 11 sectors are interpreting double materiality. It reveals key maturity signals – including whether companies are applying time horizons, disclosing value chain impacts, and distinguishing between actual and potential effects. Key findings include: Negative impacts outnumber opportunities nearly 3 to 1, with 37% of all IROs classified as negative impacts and just 13% as opportunities. This suggests companies are taking a cautious approach and are aligning with the principle of prudence. Climate Change (E1), Own Workforce (S1) and Business Conduct (G1) were reported by 99%, 98% and 92% of companies respectively, whereas Affected Communities (S3), Water (E3), and Biodiversity (E4) appeared in just 36%, 37% and 44% of reports. CSRD statements average 103 pages, virtually unchanged from the pre-CSRD average of 102, yet companies disclosed anywhere from 6 to 130 IROs (most between 25 - 45), highlighting wide variability in materiality thresholds. Companies identified an average of 6 out of the 10 ESRS standards as material, reflecting the broad application of the double materiality lens. Notably, only 14% of companies included any entity‑specific IROs. "As the CSRD sets a new standard for transparency and accountability, our analysis shows that most companies are still building the muscle for continuous, data‑driven management," said Marjella Lecourt‑Alma, CEO and co‑founder of Datamaran. "This report gives corporate leaders a valuable benchmark as they work to evolve from compliance to competitive advantage." The analysis draws on sustainability reports from 304 companies across 21 countries and 57 industries, published between January and April 2025. Click here to download the full report. Contact: Helen Skeen, Senior PR and Content Manager: Logo - View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Datamaran Limited Sign in to access your portfolio
