26/10/2022

Dark nights, dark arts, Evil ESEF and the HELLISH road to digital reporting

The landscape of Annual Reporting has been ever-changing over the last decade or so - and for good reason. I have been involved in designing and producing annual reports since I joined Source back in 1995. We have worked with many different companies across many different sectors. Back then, the typical annual report was about 60 pages in total. A gentle read… Nowadays you can multiply that by a minimum of 4 – an almost impossible read. Back then, every shareholder got a printed copy of the annual report delivered straight to their letterbox. Back then, the mission of the PLC was almost singularly to create shareholder value. Today the narrative must rightly demonstrate how businesses can achieve sustainable value creation, not just for their shareholders but also how they impact on a wider stakeholder audience. And today, not everyone wants a hefty, carbon soaked annual report landing on the welcome mat...