: If you have been invited to speak, make a presentation, or appear on a panel at a conference, find and make friends with someone in the group that deals with investors and the media well before the event. Tell them what you've been asked to do and ask for their guidance and support. Chances are they will jump at the chance to support and help you with your speech-writing and presentation charts. The strong advice is to avoid the temptation to not ask for their support and help. When you appear in public and say anything, you are automatically deemed to be a representative of your company, especially SO if someone introduces you as "so and SO from Company X," or mentions your company at all. If your com- pany is a publicly traded company, you could be deemed to be an insider under securities law. Your media relations or public relations group can help you avoid career destruction, SO involve them early and to the extent they are willing and helpful. INTERNAL REPORTING The typical enterprise runs on internal monthly reporting of actual results recorded in accounting journals and ledgers. This information is then compared to budget and as the year progresses, a current forecast for future periods. Some organizations use what's referred to as a rolling forecast, whereby future quarters and year end coinciding with the annual report is forecast. The rolling forecast is sometimes used to bridge the annual business plan to a long-range strategic plan that picks up from the current year and may cover 3 or more years into the future. 12 BUDGETING AND FINANCIAL PLANNING Practices and management style determine how this information is presented and reviewed; however, it's not unusual for an enterprise to detail out an accounting calendar with specific dates each month for a preliminary trial balance, usually within 3 to 5 days of the end of the month, followed by a period of 2 to 3 days for adjustments, and final closing within 10 days after the end of the month. Another common practice is full-fledged senior management r