Nothing good to say about your annual report?

There is only so long that a public company can hand out an annual report created in Word and maintain credibility. Why in this day and age would anyone feel that a public company’s annual report of activities to shareholders could ever be adequately portrayed through an internal Word document?

I can imagine some readers thinking already – “It’s a waste of money” or “The money could be better spent elsewhere”.

Really?

A professionally presented annual report must be viewed as an investment, not an expense. It is a statement to all stakeholders – staff, management, shareholders and the investment community. A statement of position and intent.

Even if the company is a junior explorer in the exploration phase, and is still yet to show any income other than interest from the latest placement, the cost of a professional annual report is still money well spent. A poorly presented annual report can communicate a range of messages, none of which are desirable: ‘company with no money’; ‘inexperienced and unsophisticated management’, ‘poor head office organisation’; ‘nothing really to report’; or ‘inappropriate cash burn means unforeseen cutbacks’. I’ve yet to speak to a member of the investment community who thinks a poorly presented annual report ever communicates a positive message, even for companies in the most untenable of situations.

There are some real benefits from engaging a professional communications agency to help with your annual report.

• It will look better. It’s true that the most commonly read pages of any annual report are those containing the remuneration report followed by the P&L – that’s a function of human nature. Regardless, it is a truthful summary of the activities and the financial performance of those activities and it should be portrayed honestly and professionally with clarity and as much supporting imagery as is appropriate – otherwise, why did you do it in the first place. Aside from being important corporate history, an annual report also often doubles as a corporate profile.
• An agency that is expert in financial reporting will also be able to give you a fresh perspective when it comes to best practice in your industry such as short-run print techniques; what your competitors are up to and what works best; when to consider interactive online reporting; how to leverage the work you do into new investor communication techniques and key messaging. The same agency should become your repository of imagery and ideas, your partner in brand building. Brand building you ask? Yes, as you build your business you build your brand – the two are the same thing.
• An agency will deliver on time. There is nothing better than having what looks like an impossible deadline to get an annual report or prospectus designed, produced, printed and to the mailing house, and being able to call an agency and make it their problem.
• A well crafted annual report also gives rise to a range of new assets such as images, charts, graphs and photography that you can use again and again throughout the ensuing year – again improving how your company presents itself.

So when you get up at your AGM and run through the year that was – the only thing better than being on top of your brief, is looking like you are.