The benefits of publishing online reports far exceed the use of advanced technology-driven capabilities and leveraging yet another delivery channel.

The benefits of publishing online reports far exceed the use of advanced technology-driven capabilities and leveraging yet another delivery channel.

From 2000-2005, on the wave of digital transformation, more than half of public companies based in the UK and Europe published their first annual reports in digital format. This was followed by digital execution of appendices to annual reports as move to digital gained momentum and smartphone penetration rates grew. Now, the share of such reports and appendices has stabilised, and many companies are reviewing their approach to online reporting.

The growth of the online reporting market has slowed down mostly because businesses do not clearly understand the benefits and the added value offered by such reports, while companies and consultancies are reluctant to dilute efforts given their time and budget pressures.

Therefore, the next wave of increased demand for online reports will emerge when the added value they offer far exceeds the inconveniences related to their publication and the associated additional costs.  Companies should above all understand the value they get from using digital and get a clear positive feedback from stakeholders confirming that online reports meet their informational and other needs. Another option would be to reduce the labour intensity of using digital, the timelines and costs of report publication.

The key obstacle to the development of online reporting is the challenge of ensuring that the digital and PDF versions of a report are identical. What additional benefits can be offered without discriminating in terms of disclosures? Use video presentations and interviews, XLS data books, project and case galleries, interactive graphics and charts, XBRL financial statements – all those tools that simply do not exist on paper or in PDF.

Of course, you have also to take care of many other aspects of the report including excellent user interface implementation, interactive storytelling, tablet usability and others.

What are the benefits for companies? Investor relations departments get unique insights into content preferences of stakeholders and reliably measured KPIs on report impact and reach, which provides inputs for day-to-day IR activities and helps improve the impact of subsequent reports.

A new trend in online reporting is content personalisation and customisation to meet the needs of different stakeholder groups. This provides for significantly increased value of a report to stakeholders and the company, as described above. This trend will drive and guide the efforts when targeting different stakeholder groups through GRI G4 reporting, and in migrating AGM and other stakeholder engagement formats onto digital platforms.

Andrey Kozhevnikov is managing director of Zebra Corporate Communications