User research is very helpful in assessing your site’s accessibility compliance, Johnson says. “Companies should seek to adopt accessibility solutions that align with the needs and wants of those most likely to use those solutions,” he points out. “Input from advocacy groups, customer relations, and even complaints can all help to fill in the gaps.” Johnson says that given competing operational
priorities and budgetary constraints, it is understand- able that businesses, particularly small and medium- sized ones, may not be able to address everything on their accessibility compliance checklist all at once. But he adds that you can start by focusing on the digital assets with the highest visibility to users and greatest potential exposure to legal claims. “If you want to see best practices in website ac- cessibility, look to the leading consumer brands like Target,” Zahn adds. “All too often the IR side of the site gets left behind or overlooked for the consumer side when in fact, the best practices on the consumer side should translate over to the IR side.”
Tools or People, Manual or Automatic “When getting started with accessibility, organiza- tions begin to adopt automated practices,” Romano explains. “Scanning using automated tools allows for rapid identification and reporting of roughly 35% of the low-hanging fruit of WCAG criteria that are detectable at a code level.” He adds these items can be addressed with some
training and remediated by design, development, and content teams versed in accessibility practices and standards. Romano is also a proponent of manual as well
as automated testing. He believes an organization committed to accessibility and truly creating inclusive experiences requires the addition of manual testing and remediation practices on top of automated ones. “Including manual testing means you are designing and developing for real people with real needs and getting testing feedback on the most critical aspects of your site,” Romano points out. “No computerized scanner can detect the same amount of nuanced is- sues from your code and content compared with a manual testing process with real people.” Te current best practice is to scan all broadcast
3 2 SPRING 2 0 2 3 ■ IR UPDAT E
content at least twice per year to identify any areas in need of remediation, says Romano. “Te emerg- ing best practice for IROs is to scan and remediate four times per year reflecting the quarterly cycle of earnings-related content additions.”
Looks Matter “Compliancy affects the design,” explains Kevin Poor, Creative Director and a lead website strategist at Dix & Eaton. “Design compliancy, usually of a PDF posted on a website, extends to color contrasts, type size, and contrast against colors (requiring black and white or other high contrast design).” Poor points that much of the behind-the-scenes
work that goes into creating PDFs includes lots of metadata. “For instance, to be accessible, the read- order of the website has to be contained in data embedded in the PDF that tells the reader in what order to read the content.” Compliancy with font size or color contrast is up
to the client’s specifications, says Poor. “Whether a website is to be an A, AA, or AAA ADA compliant company is the company’s choice, but it has to live up to that level of compliancy.” In 2021, the number of mobile devices operating
worldwide was 15 billion, up from just over 14 billion the previous year, according to Fredrica Laricchia writing for Statista. Mobile devices are expected to reach 18.22 billion by 2025. “It is crucial to ensure your site uses responsive design best practices,” says Romano. “A site should be simple to use and navigate on a small screen, with clear and legible text and buttons that are easy to tap.” Romano adds that incorporating accessible design
practices leads to lower costs at the beginning of the design cycle, which translates to increased traffic and engagement on the site.
No Action Not an Option Tere are many reasons why accessibility is essential for an IR website. Johnson points out that not being in compliance can
create public relations and reputational risks, in addi- tion to exposing companies to potential legal liability. Tese lawsuits can cost business billions of dol- lars, according to the Investis Digital report. It notes
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