The 2009 annual report season: Are you ready?

For many companies, 2009 will ultimately go down in ‘the books’ as a turbulent year. And in a period of a few months it will be time again to publish company results. The 2009 annual report season is just around the corner, and more than ever before stakeholders will want to know how your company has performed last year. The question companies will ask themselves is: how can I present my stakeholders with an ideal annual report? More and more frequently, company results are being published online. But what exactly does publishing your annual report online entail? Here is a brief refresher session for the coming season.

It is still true that more and more companies are using the possibilities of the internet for both financial annual reports and sustainability or social reports in order to provide better insight into their company results. Not in the form of a PDF version on the website, but by offering the annual report in HTML format. And they have good reasons for doing this. As Boudewijn Bugter indicated in his article last Friday, online annual reports have continued to develop more and more over the past years. This article isn’t so much aimed at explaining these developments, but focuses more on answering the questions which companies might have who are considering to produce online annual reports.

Most companies start preparations for the annual report process in August. This usually begins with an initial editorial board meeting (often combined with the preparation of a briefing for selecting an agency). Subsequently, the months from October to February (roughly speaking) are used to gather content for the report. The third and final step, of course, is the publication of the annual report. This usually occurs between February and April. But which questions should companies ask themselves before they embark on this process?

Why an online annual report?

The first logical question that companies need to ask themselves is: why an HTML annual report? What added value does an HTML annual report have compared to a print version? The most obvious reason is the way in which you can present your annual report online. Firstly, it gives you optimum reach (stakeholders don’t have to request printed reports but can access them immediately). In addition, a good navigation structure enables users to find the desired specific information more easily. 

The other clear added value of an HTML annual report compared to a print version is the extra opportunities the internet offers. A logical example is the use of video. This offers extensive opportunities for explaining the results. For example, the CEO can explain briefly in a short film how things went in the past year. This makes it possible to show in an interactive, lively and – most importantly – visual way which challenges your company had to face in the previous year.

 
Link: http://www.annualreport2008.philips.com/

In addition to video, an HTML annual report allows you to offer stakeholders the possibility of working with the results. This can occur, for example, in the form of tools as interactive graphs. It also gives you the opportunity to share the results with others in a user-friendly way. This can be done in a financial report with core figures and in a sustainability report with figures regarding emissions, waste, energy consumption, water consumption, etc. 

Link Shell: http://www.annualreview.shell.com/2008/servicepages/keyfigurescomparison.php

What steps and activities should be undertaken?

An HTML annual report entails building a new website. This comprises all the steps you would take when developing a normal website.

• Definition phase: The very first step is to create a short business case. What does an HTML report cost? But also consider what it yields in terms of savings on the costs of a printed version. In some cases, these business cases may even be profitable themselves! It is then necessary in the definition phase to determine the strategic communication objectives: how should the report be positioned? Is corporate branding an objective as well? Or does it purely concern a factual representation of the results? After that it’s necessary to define the relevant content & functions (wishes and requirements): which of the internet possibilities are we going to use?
• Design phase: Now we determine the structure of the report. This is an important factor in terms of the user-friendliness of the report and it provides clear added value which the printed version does not offer. How should the navigation be organized? Which pages will link up with each other? Subsequently, templates have to be developed and the report is designed at the visual, functional and technical levels.
• Realization phase: The website (and the CMS) are built.

What is the result?

Imagine you follow the steps mentioned above: what do you actually get out of an HTML annual report? Or a better way of phrasing it is: what do your stakeholders get out of an HTML annual report?  First of all, by having an HTML annual report, you are catering for stakeholders who need a quick scan of the results as well as stakeholders who are searching for in-depth information. And as an organization you don’t have to determine what does or does not belong to a ‘quick scan’. By offering users a clear navigation structure, you are catering for the needs of every type of stakeholder, without forcing them to wade through a forest of paper.  

Another tangible benefit of an HTML annual report is that you are offering users the possibility of working with the results. This can be achieved by means of interactive graphs and the option of exporting results. Together with the possibility of explaining your results in a video, this enables you to offer stakeholders a richer and more interactive user experience.

The third clear advantage of an HTML report is something that will distinctly benefit your organization. It’s true that developing an HTML annual report requires an investment. However, a bold report format (with a clear navigation structure) will save you a great deal of work and money in the future. If we use the increasingly extensive CSR reports as an example, we could conclude that developing a report format is worth the investment.

And finally, the HTML annual report naturally affects the printed version as well. The print run can be smaller and the postage costs can be cut. There are even companies who choose to do away with print versions entirely. They limit themselves to an online version and, if required, a PDF version.

What do our stakeholders think?

Imagine your company delivering an amazing HTML report in a few months’ time. But there’s one last step you need to take. In order to perfect the format, structure and functionality, you need to test your HTML annual report with the various target groups. You have made an investment in order to produce your HTML report, so it is natural that you would like to enjoy your format for years to come. So ask your stakeholders how they experienced your report by means of comments, a survey and usability testing. This will help you to improve your format even more and get optimum yield out of your investment. In fact, an HTML report is just like all other websites: it’s never quite finished.