prefatory

prefatory [ pref-uh-TWAR-ee ]
[ adjective ]

MEANING :
1. introductory or pertaining to a preface
2. characteristic of a preface

USAGE EXAMPLE 1 :
After a short prefatory announcement the CFO went on to an in depth analysis of the financial statement of the company.

USAGE EXAMPLE 2 :
Ben Jonson writes a prefatory poem to the posthumous collected edition of Shakespeare's works.