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Your corporate finance documents and reports are a non-negotiable responsibility.

Some – like annual reports and investor communications – are regulatory requirements and need to be completed to prescribed standards and formats.

Others – like IPO prospectuses or M&A documents – are essential components of your strategic goals and need to be accurate, professional and timely.

The importance of all these documents makes it imperative that they’re produced to exacting standards. Your corporate finance documentation needs to portray the image you want for your firm.

Corporate finance documentation – the secrets of a professional approach

How can you make sure this is the case? Choosing the right partner to work with on producing corporate finance documents is essential.

But let’s take a step back – before you even get to the stage of choosing a partner, it’s not always a given that companies will use an external provider at all for their corporate finance documents. So first off, let’s explore that – and some of the risks you might face as a result of trying to go it alone.

How can an external provider elevate your corporate finance documents?

There are a few different ways that a professional provider can support the production of your corporate finance documents. Broadly, these fall into two categories: content and presentation – both of which can make a big difference to the way your documents are received.

1. Knowledge and familiarity with the market. A business with experience of partnering with clients on corporate finance documentation will have an in-depth understanding of the challenges and opportunities corporate finance actions present.Whether you are looking to IPO, seeking M&A partners, or simply aiming to improve your annual reports, a company that has experience in producing similar documents will know what’s expected from regulators, private equity firms, shareholders or anyone else with a vested interest in your documentation. They can provide invaluable advice on what to include and how it should be presented.
2. Speaking of which, an experienced provider will help you achieve a more professional look and feel for your documentation. From the basics like professional typesetting through to professionally-designed tables, graphs and infographics – an experienced designer will bring an undeniable polish to your corporate documents. 

   This documentation acts as a shop window for your business – shorthand for your entire business ethos. Why would you cut corners in its production?

3. A partner who works closely with the corporate finance market will understand not just the importance of first impressions, but the content that your documentation should include. They can act as your expert checklist to ensure crucial information – your ESG credentials in your IPO prospectus, for instance – doesn’t get missed. 
4. Timing is everything. When you’re producing corporate finance documentation, you are typically working to tight deadlines, tackling last-minute changes and additions while under pressure to complete the deal or meet regulatory deadlines.Don’t take all of this on yourself. A professional partner will have experienced, agile project management teams dedicated to ensuring your job is completed in good time. The best will have strong relationships with the market, enabling them to collaborate with your Registrars to manage data and arrange fulfilment.

   Expertise in typesetting, artwork and design – alongside the latest print technology – will ensure your time-critical documents are produced swiftly, accurately and securely.

5. Think longer-term, too. Beyond your immediate requirements, a professional provider can work in partnership with you, supporting your business as it grows and matures. By developing an understanding of your business through pre-IPO planning, for example, an external partner is perfectly placed to work with you on your regular documentation requirements.Having supported other businesses going through the same process, external design, print and documentation companies understand the transition from private to public company, or the challenges created via sudden M&A growth. They know the new obligations you will face – for annual reports, gender pay reports and all the other documentation you’re now required to file.

The risks of going it alone

On the other hand, fail to engage external support and you take on the entire burden of design, delivery and keeping on top of regulatory requirements. Your documents don’t benefit from the input of professionals, whether in their content, design or production.The pressure of co-ordinating print and delivery rests entirely on your shoulders.

What corporate finance documentation can an external provider support you with?

An experienced design, print and documentation company can help with a multitude of corporate finance documents, including:

• Rights issue documents
• IPO prospectuses
• Information circulars
• AIM admission documents
• IPO documents
• Merger and acquisition (M&A) documents
• Annual reports
• Investor communications
• Fiduciary documents
• Whitewash circulars
• EGM circulars
• Fundraising documents
• Disposal documents
• Placing and Open Offer documents
• Offer for Subscription documents

Choosing the right partner for your corporate finance documents

The case for working with an external provider for your corporate finance documentation, then, seems pretty watertight.

How do you make sure you choose the best partner to help you? Look for a company with:

• Long-standing experience and relationships in the corporate finance market
• Experience of working with businesses throughout the corporate lifecycle, from pre-IPO through to annual reporting
• Expertise across companies of all sizes and at all stages of maturity, from early start-ups to mature FTSE 250 businesses
• A flexible, can-do approach, prepared to be agile and responsive to enable you to meet your deadlines
• End-to-end experience, from typesetting and design through to print and fulfilment, for seamless project management and execution
• Enough capacity to tackle numerous complex projects simultaneously
• The latest printing facilities, equipped to manage complex, time-sensitive and personalised documentation

Perivan are year-on-year leaders in the production of IPO prospectuses, on both AIM and the main market. We are vastly experienced at working with companies of all types and sizes.

By some way, we have the largest financial document creation resource in the UK – our teams are specialists in typesetting, artwork and design. We will turn around your time-critical documents quickly, accurately and securely. And because our digital printing facility is based in central London, it’s easy for us to rapidly and reliably deliver advance copies and book proofs.

Our decades of experience make us the perfect partner for any business wanting to ensure their corporate documentation conveys expertise, polish and compelling content.

Read more about our corporate finance documentation services and contact us to find out more.