License Investor Relations Officers

others are required to register and be licensed to conduct business. Investor relations officers do not seem accountable in the same fashion. This at best leaves a wide range of standards in hiring practices. At worst the public is poorly served through both incompetance or outright wrong-doing.
Licensing and education training standards that would or should apply protect the public. Imagine this problem: An investor makes an inquiry and receives a response. The investor relations officer is an employee of the company and does not have any primary or strong obligations to the investor. This makes the caveat emptor dynamic highly tricky. At times it is impossible. We cannot rely on the current SEC process to protect the investor in many small and grey area matters. But the threat of lossing ones livelihood does provide a base line defense for the investing public.
Licensing would also help protect the investor relations officer against unscrupulous executives and managements from leaning on the individual and abusing their power as employer coercing inappropriate behaviours. Licensing would allow the investor relations officer to operate from an integrity platform and become the first line of defense against investor misinformation. Right now too many investor relations officers drive the get-a-way cars.