Your 2009 Annual Report – important things to consider

1 Companies are looking to realise new cost efficiencies across all design and production processes – but where are they going to find them and who will point them out? 

2 Shareholders will be seeking answers to many questions and will be expecting companies to be forthcoming with them – this is not the time to be shy and withholding. 

3 Online reporting is firmly on the agenda but many companies have yet to understand and embrace the benefits of HTML reports – otherwise known as mini-websites.

4 High on listed companies’ agendas must be the future vision of the company leaders, their confidence in the company’s survival strategies, and their ability to articulate the company’s future prospects. 

5 Shareholders have now had a taste of accessing company results online – persist with a PDF of the printed report at your peril. 

6 The last six months in particular have rewritten the rules on what a company requires from their annual report supplier – designer; IT consultant; web developer; market analyst; brand manager; expert on email management and print logistics; litho and digital print maestro – and if they don’t possess these skills you’re probably missing out on some critical advice and cost saving opportunities. 

7 The advent of online reporting is making planners and contributors of content rethink the structure and level of content for presentation and consumption online.

8 The introduction of Shareholder Reviews back in 2006 has caught the attention of companies and shareholders alike as a concise and easy way for investors to grasp the essential information on a company’s performance and prospects without the clutter of intricate financial data. 

9 It’s highly likely that if the annual report is found wanting this year it will prompt shareholders to question the reasons why they are holding on to the company’s shares and look around for more attractive and more stable opportunities.

10 The search for cost savings will see some printing and mailing tasks performed by share registries migrate to other more nimble and service-oriented suppliers.

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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