The Evolution of the Annual Report conference, held on 2 October in London, featured a laundry list of headline speakers in corporate reporting from the executive director of the Financial Reporting Council to the director of group communications at Legal & General and the director of investor relations for the National Grid. 

Speakers discussed the ways in which investor relations and corporate reporting have changed due to shifts in technology, new national and international regulation and the changing needs of investors. “The way people read reports is changing,” Premier Farnell’s IR executive Thomas Churchill says, setting the tone for the day’s discussion which largely focused on why reporting is changing and the role the audience has played in ensuring that evolution.

“The quality of the annual report reflects on the quality of the people running the business,” adds Freddie Wolfe, associate director of investment management firm Hermes EOS. “You can tell when companies view the report as a communications document rather than a compliance piece.”

Investors are no longer the only ones reading annual reports, however. Thus, narrative reporting has become de rigueur as companies seek to tell their stories, rather than just present financial details. Financial journalist Andrew Sawers says the annual report is the only place companies can have that conversation with their stakeholders. Regulation, he says, is catching up to the trend toward discussion of risk and corporate story in the annual report.

While the environment in which reports are being read, and by whom, has changed, so too has the mode of delivery. Digital has changed the way corporate reporting functions, on a fundamental level. Almost all listed companies have some digital aspect to their annual report, whether that’s a PDF version, a full HTML site or a bespoke website. International mining firm Rio Tinto launched an online portal for corporate reporting that allows them to constantly update data and information. Marina Plessas, principal adviser for digital media at Rio Tinto says, “It was our choice to use this as a communications tool in a way we hadn’t before. It’s all about the downloads now.” Though the last few years have been rife with change, the evolution of the annual report doesn’t end there. Speakers discussed the changes yet to be made in both regulation and stakeholders demands. Digital will continue to act as a force for change in corporate reporting, but many point to risk and reputation as the next step in the growth of the annual report. Melanie McLaren, executive director for the Financial Reporting Council, says the FRC will work towards enhanced risk management reporting in future. John Dawson from the National Grid shocked attendees when he suggested the annual report should no longer be ‘annual.’ “Why can’t we have a strategic report when we have a strategic change?” he asks. An annual look at a business ignores the constant change that investors may be looking for. That may be more revolution than evolution, but only time will tell.

The Evolution of the Annual Report also featured the Strategic Report Accolades, presented by FutureValue, honouring the best in strategic reporting by UK-listed companies