Annual report writing – planning makes perfect

In the midst of all this recent busy-ness – not all work-related – I suddenly realised the other day that it was nearly the end of April. April.

Which means it is just two months till the end of the financial year. Or, in other words, I only had a small window of opportunity to establish Black Coffee Communication as the go-to copywriter for annual reports.

And it also meant it was time for my regular run of posts about annual report writing, especially for those of you who are faced with the prospect of tackling your first report, and for others who have had to do them year in year out, and have lost the will to live.

Because annual reports can be an annual pain in the backside (the clue is in the title), but governance requirements mean they must be done and tabled – either with government or the ASX.

And remember, even though it may seem to be just a case of ticking the boxes, and that no-one is ever going to read them, some people do. Important people, such as audit committees, shareholders, politicians, and even the media.

So it is time to suck it up and get on with the job of adding some spark to what is fundamentally a legal obligation (but can be an awesome marketing tool as well).

The key to a successful annual report – that will show your organisation in the best light, while ensuring the pointy-heads are kept happy – is in the planning.

Here are a few questions to consider about before you even put pen to paper (or engage a designer)

• What is the budget? Before you even start, you need to settle on a budget, because there is no point in planning a massive, glossy printed publication if the budget only allows for a downloadable PDF. And if you need to prodice some printed copies, make sure you leave enough in the budget for this – keeping in mind that the fewer copies you print, the greater the cost per copy.
• What is the deadline? Most annual reports need to be tabled on a specific day, before a certain time. So talk to the design/printer about when they need final copy, and work from that.
• Hard or soft copy? Sometimes, all you need is a soft copy report, although you may need to ensure there are at least a few hard copies hanging around to table in parliament and send to various’ state and national libraries or the ASX.
• Can the project management be outsourced? There are times it makes sense to outsource the whole shebang, but you need to make this decision early to ensure you secure the services of a good project manager, who has experience in annual reports (or other big, multi-faceted documents).
• What content is a “must” and what is a “want”? There are various non-financial bits of information that still need to be reported on (for example, equal opportunity, or sustainability programs). You will need to make sure you know the most recent requirements in all the jurisdictions that the report needs to be tabled in. And a warning these can change at any time. There is nothing wrong with having a report that just ticks the governance boxes, but if you want “window dressing” now is the time to nut out the content. and work on the structure of the report (chapters, headings and so on).
• Who needs to provide raw material?  Once you have an idea of the content and structure of the report, you will need to contact the various subject matter experts in your organisation to let them know what you need from them and when (and make sure you add some padding – these are busy people, and the annual report will not be high on their list of priorities.
• Who will write it? Does anyone in-house have the time or knowledge to write the report? Or do you need to hire a copywriter who specialises in annual report writing? Even if you decide to do it in house, it pays to get an external person in to proofread – especially if it has been written by committee.

I hope these tips will help you perfect the art of writing and compiling your company’s annual report. And, you know, if you need some help, you can always drop me a line via the contact form.

Till next time

Nicole