Financial Education - The quality of corporate communications for financial performance

Communications at the corporate level should also be in a broad sense, relating to expectations, responsibilities of individuals and groups, and other important matters. In addition to receiving data relevant to managing their activities, all personnel, particularly those with significant operational or financial management responsibilities, need to receive a clear message from senior management that internal control responsibilities are to be taken seriously.

In this context, each individual needs to understand the relevant aspects of the internal control system, how it works and what his or her role and responsibility is in the system. Without that understanding, problems will easily arise in the performance of their responsibilities, staff should know that if unexpected events occur, attention should be paid not only to the event itself, but also to its cause. In this way, a potential weakness in the system can be identified and the necessary actions taken to prevent its recurrence.

From this perspective, one of the communication needs of personnel is to receive adequate and relevant instructions to carry out their responsibilities. Managers achieve better results if they express their instructions in accordance with the objective requirements of the position, in addition to pointing out areas of potential opportunities and problems.

In this sense, listening is more than just hearing; it requires the use of the ears and the mind. Effective listening works on two levels: it helps receivers understand the facts and the emotional message the sender intends to communicate. Good listeners not only hear what is being said, but also learn about the individual's feelings and emotions. Equally important is the fact that managers who listen effectively send a key signal of interest in the employee.

According to some criteria, management should clearly specify the relevant aspects of the internal control system, since the employees of an organization need to have mechanisms for communicating information to higher levels. For this information to reach the higher levels there must be open lines of communication and obviously a willingness to listen on the part of management.