Hard Copy Report

Why are 10-20% of Australian shareholders still requesting hard copy annual reports?

In this first reporting season since the 2007 Legislation change in Australia that made online reports the default option, many companies have found it difficult to make the right decision for their online reporting needs because a printed report is still requested by some shareholders. Companies dream of the day when no shareholders request a hard copy annual report and they can then have a clean slate to determine the way they really want to communicate with shareholders. Let’s analyse why the requests keep coming in.

> shareholders are not fully aware nor understanding of the Legislation change and its implications
> they didn’t understand the poorly designed share registry communication they receive and the implications of ‘ticking the box’
> they don’t trust the company’s intentions and subscribe to the belief that ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t try and fix it’
> they don’t like the PDF annual reports they’ve seen in the past and probably aren’t aware of user-friendly HTML ones
> they don’t have a PC and internet connection
> they’re too old for ‘all this internet stuff’ and delight in showing off the annual report at the bowling club
> they love the smell of ink on paper and its tactile qualities
> it provides tangible evidence of the investment they’ve made
> they don’t fully subscribe to environmental considerations

Most shareholders, particularly the older ones, aren’t happy with viewing large PDF documents on screen such as annual reports. They will be reluctant to move online until they experience a simple and easy to navigate HTML report and realise that the old challenges and frustrations are no longer there, and that it is now as easy as accessing and navigating any website.

Tony Heywood is a Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia, founder of Heywood Innovation in Sydney Australia and joint founder of BrandSynergy in Singapore.

View some of Heywood’s work on www.heywood.com.au

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