ASKING an investor what makes a good annual report is like asking somebody what makes a good pizza. Some enjoy the simplicity of a thin, crispy base topped with only tomato sauce and cheese. Others prefer thick-crusted varieties capable of supporting a shopping-cart load of toppings. What’s the secret sauce for annual reports? Like good [...]
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WHAT gets measured, matters. Measuring the effectiveness of stakeholder, investor and other corporate communication activities, however, has always been somewhat ambiguous. Until now. Wharton Professor of Management Witold Henisz has found a way of measuring the benefits of stakeholder engagement activities to public mining companies that operate in risky environments. Henisz and two co-authors researched [...]
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COMPLEXITY is unavoidable in today’s ever more complicated and sophisticated business environment. Much of the complexity in corporate reporting, however, is created by the sheer volume of disclosure. The solution? Thoughtful reduction to achieve simplicity. That may sound easy enough. But the corporate reporting system isn’t just about financial and operating numbers. It’s also about [...]
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ANNUAL reporting season has finally and mercifully come to an end for most companies. The cost of this exercise? Just for Form 10-K, the SEC estimated that companies chalk up 4 million hours of staff time and 12 million hours of outside advisor time, which, at $300 per hour, amounts to $3.6 billion. And that [...]
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LOVE it or hate it, Management’s Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) provides a window on details behind earnings and other key performance numbers. But is the MD&A a bastion of storytelling and plain language? Probably not. So how can you capture a reader’s attention and communicate clearly and effectively in the MD&A? The answer is to [...]
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“A DECENT annual report is becoming like a hygiene factor—it’s like washing your teeth on a daily basis.” That was the observation of Mikus Janvars, Director of Corporate Finance at Evli Securities, one of several analysts featured recently in the video embedded below. So in addition to being transparent, your annual report also needs the [...]
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