Getting Started with Annual Reports

Creating an annual report can be a daunting task. However, with an overview of the most important pieces to include and tips to make it more engaging, and your report can be simplified and easily created. Consider the following sections and tips for creating and running annual reports before you get started with your 2016 year in review.

Sections to Include

While many individuals believe that an annual report can be skimmed down, the best way to guarantee success is to be thorough. Include the following 9 sections to deliver a well-rounded annual report.

Board Letter

Most often, the opening board letter is written by the chairman. However, if you don’t have a chairman, this letter can be written by another high-ranking individual. The letter should open the annual report and should deliver an overview of your year and what to expect in your annual report. This includes any new company developments, an overview of the year’s goals and what their resolution was, and industry conditions.

Sales and Marketing Overview

Written by the marketing department, the sales and marketing overview should provide an analytical report of where the company is making most of its money and actions that sales and marketing are taking to support production. In addition, the scope of division and operations between marketing and sales should be clear to the reader.

Management Overview

Written by the CFO, the management overview should highlight significant trends over the past two years. This overview will impact decisions made for the future of the company and should be supported by the summary of financial figures.

Summary of Financial Figures

Provided by the CFO, the summary of financial figures should be placed at the front of the report. Most often, the summary of financial figures should cover the past ten years. However, if your company is younger, it will be up to the CFO to decide how many years should be represented in the summary. The summary should support the sales and marketing overview and should be accompanied by visual demonstrations in charts or graphs.

Stock Price

Delivered by the corporate secretary, the stock price is delivered for internal analysis. This section should include where the stock is traded, the stock symbol, high and low history, and price and dividend trends over time. This section should follow the financial summary.   

CPA Opinion Letter

The CPA Opinion Letter should be written by your company’s CPA firm. The goal of this letter is to communicate the overall “clean” standing of your company finances, without internal influence. A “clean” standing means that the CPA believes the financial statements are accurate and fair to the company. The CPA opinion letter commonly precedes the financial report and summarizes the scope of the CPA’s audit and general results.

Financial Statements

Provided by the CFO, the financial statements should provide a comprehensive overview of the company’s finances, including every department and projections for the following years.

Subsidiaries, Brands and Addresses

Listed by the legal department, the subsidiaries, brands and addresses section of an annual report should provide a glossary to all company holdings.

List of Directors and Officers

The final section in the annual report, the list of directors and officers is typically provided by the corporate secretary. Delivered in a glossary like format, it should include names, titles, and contact information.

Making your Annual Report More Engaging

Annual reports can be dry material, which automatically disengages important readers. To re-engage your team for your annual company review, consider how you will create and design your annual report. With the help of professional writers and graphic designers, your annual report can come alive, which will help you represent the important information there-in. Consider the following points to make your annual report more engaging.

Tell your Story

Your annual report can be more than a list of figures and a glossary of items. It contains a year of information, all which can be presented as your company’s story. Consider the most important points from the year to help you get started with outlining your story and conveying your successes. Part of telling your story is effectively utilizing flow: make sure that the flow of your annual report is comfortable and it’s easy for readers to move from one section to another. If sections are out of order, it may be hard for your readers to follow along and stay engaged.

Utilize Visual Data and Graphic Design

Images help to highlight important points and numbers. Consider calling out your strongest numbers and details from the year by utilizing engaging images. To showcase data, consider using infographics to make your numbers more relatable.

Utilizing visual data and graphic design also provides the opportunity to reinforce your brand to your readers. If you’re presenting to the board, this can help provide a cohesive overview.

Use Space, Language, and Typography Wisely

Your readers are consuming a lot of valuable information at once. Avoid overwhelming them by using concise language, limiting the amount of text you use on a page, and highlighting important sections with bold typography. These choices will help you guide the flow of your reader, helping them retain your most important points.

Accept Help and Delegate Tasks

You don’t have to create your annual report alone. With a variety of employees pulling together the necessary sections, you should be able to deliver a comprehensive annual report.

To ensure that you have all of the details you need, consider also using your Point of Sale system. With built in analytics and reporting features, the data you need for an accurate annual report should be at your fingertips.

Does your POS offer your business the support you need? Are you ready to simplify your business with the use of a new POS? SilverEdge can help.  If you are ready to talk with a SilverEdge representative about the right choice for your business, contact 970-800-2890 or email info@silveredge.com today.