Lesson VII-9: Reporting Your Success What good is having all the money in the world if you don't announce it in publications that people can no longer afford to read?

Earnings Call

For further information, please see the income statement accompanying this report.

Moderator: Welcome to the 2006 Earnings Report conference call for Christiansen Allied Leveraged Technologies, on January 12, 2007. We have Chief Executive Officer Lou Spokkets here with us on the call. The first question is from Bank of Boston.

Bank of Boston Analyst: I'd like to address your revenue increase from 2005 to 2006. I see your reported increase, but I haven't been able to get in touch with some of your clients to discuss your relationship with them, and I'm wondering if these new clients you're talking about are just a bunch of hot air.

CEO Lou Spokkets: I'm a little concerned that you're concentrating on the wrong thing here. We have managed incalculable issues stumping some substantial companies. Customers have consistently sung our praises for being able to provide the solutions they need at the right price. I'm shocked at the implication that we're just making up customers. Next question?

Bank of Boston Analyst: I have a follow-up question: I'm curious about the ongoing SEC investigation into your operating expenses. Surely you can't be surprised that we wonder about some of your stock option practices.

Spokkets: Our company's corporate attorneys promise openness-with magnified emphasis on executive compensation. I am confident that our internal investigations will show that there was no wrongdoing.

Moderator: A question from First Boston.

First Boston Analyst: I'd like to dig a little deeper into your trends in labor costs. How is it exactly that you've been able to grow the way you've been growing while your labor costs have increased by merely a million dollars over the last four years? Are you messing with the accounting by taking provisions to amortize some of the labor, or are you doing some sort of trickery? That kind of cost trend is impossible.

Spokkets: Mediators have, throughout their extensive perusal of our accounting, confirmed that those expenses are not amortized at all. Of course, you all know that labor is fully expensed. I can tell you right now that our relocation of a lot of functions to new warehouses in Thailand and Guatemala has heavily contributed to keeping our labor costs in line.

Moderator: The final question is from BayBank.

BayBank Analyst: Are you concerned about the lawsuits filed against you that make allegations of false advertising in your latest marketing effort? It hasn't happened yet, but I'd wonder if you expect customers to have an instantaneous reaction if the case doesn't go your way, resulting in a further downward spiral?

Spokkets: What-spontaneous backlashes? Relax, I'm sure that these lawsuits have no merit. We have letter-perfect manufacturing processes, and I am confident that our products and practices will stand up to any challenge. I'd also like to say that we stand behind all of our employees and the effort they put forth to make us as great as a company as we can be. It's a tribute to every one of our employees who made it happen. Our performance-and indeed, every word I've spoken today-would not be possible if not for them.

Moderator: Thank you, Mr. Spokkets. This concludes the 2006 Earnings Report conference call for Christiansen Allied Leveraged Technologies. Further information is available at http://www.other-people.com/financialreport/login. Thank you for attending.