What is an annual report for a corporation?
Australian corporations are required to produce annual reports each year in order to provide information to shareholders regarding company performance during a defined reporting period. This report will describe the business’ activities, financial results and strategies, and is one of the primary means through which a corporation communicates with investors and other stakeholders.
Clockwork Print specialises in the collation, design and printing of high class annual reports for corporations across Australia, and can custom design a report to meet your company’s specific needs.
What is the purpose of an annual report?
An annual report enables shareholders to review a corporation’s activities and analyse its recent financial performance to assist in the making of future investment decisions. In order to do this, an annual report needs to provide an overall picture of a company’s performance, its resources and obligations, as well as changes in equity and cash flow during the reporting period.
The design and layout of an annual report will depend on the company’s operations, but in most cases will include text, images, tables, graphs and other features in order to provide a comprehensive and accessible report covering all aspects of the company’s performance.
What does an annual report contain?
The Corporations Act 2001 and Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) Listing Rules require annual reports to include the following features:
- Directors’ Report (including remuneration report)
- Corporate Governance Statement (or the URL of the website page where this can be found)
- Financial Report
- Auditor’s Report (based on the financial and remuneration reports)
In addition, there should be other information that is not compulsory but is pertinent to the company and supports good governance. This may include reports from the chairman and the chief executive outlining highlights that occurred during the reporting period, while corporate social responsibility and sustainability reports are further features that may be included in order to help shareholders better to understand the company’s strategies and its place in the market.
Brief biographies or profiles of members of the management team also often featured in annual reports in Australia.
What makes a good annual report?
Apart from containing both the statutory requirements and non-compulsory features outlined above, the quality of the information and the clarity with which it is presented in an annual report can influence how well it is received.
This is because an annual report represents your company to shareholders, other stakeholders and the wider community, and so professional design and presentation that reflects your organisation and its values is essential.
Therefore, the language needs to be clear and accessible, and written in such a way that it meets your audience’s expectations. Graphics should be designed so that they are easily comprehensible, while the colours and images used will reflect your branding. The document should be straightforward to navigate, and enable readers to find specific information that they require quickly.
Your annual report should also be designed both for print and so that it can be accessed online.
When are annual reports published?
In Australia, the main reporting season is in August. This is because most listed companies have balance sheet dates of June 30, and companies are required to lodge an annual financial report with ASIC and the ASX within three months of the end of the financial year.
In addition, listed companies are required to prepare a half-yearly financial report that is issued to shareholders within two months of the end of the reporting period (usually in February).
Most companies aim to publish their annual report at the same time as reporting their annual results.
Where can I go for annual report designs?
As outlined above, annual report design is vital to ensuring that your document is presented professionally and reflects your corporate values and brand.
Clockwork Print specialises in designing, producing and printing annual reports for all types of businesses. Our experienced in-house design team can work with you to collate the necessary information and then custom design your annual report, including creating graphs and illustrations and incorporating your brand values and colours, to create a high quality, professional document suitable both for print and for publishing online.
Our annual report design process
Our in-house design team can take care of every aspect of designing and printing your annual report. We work in partnership with you to ensure that the annual report design process presents your directors’ report, financial report and auditor’s report clearly and in an appealing, accessible style that helps you to present a sophisticated and coherent corporate image.
We can design a suitable layout for your annual report, choose appropriate images, and create charts, tables and other graphics (ideal for presenting financial information). Our designers will also organise information so that it can be easily accessed, as well as select typography that’s right for your brand, and design a front cover that will help your annual report make an instant and positive impact on readers.
How can I get a hard copy of an annual report printed?
For high-quality annual report design and printing, contact our specialist in-house design team at Clockwork Print. Get in touch for a quote, or contact us on 08 6254 9999 to find out more about our comprehensive range of annual report printing services, and to learn more about the Clockwork Printing annual report design process.
