The Presentation of Financial Information in Company Annual Reports

Gone are the days when the preparation of the Annual Report was looked upon as a necessary evil and a chore by the officers of a company; it is realised now that the Annual Report is a vital source of information to the financial world and the one opportunity in the year to tell shareholders of their Company's record, activity and progress. Sir Alexander Ross said, when receiving The Accountant Award on behalf of United Dominions Trust in 1973, that a new approach had been adopted “with the object of both giving and receiving the maximum advantage from what is without doubt the most important document published by the company each year”. He added that they “set out to present the document in a form which would encourage people to read it, to understand it, and so to learn more about UDT and its activities and aspirations”. With these thoughts in mind the efforts of those involved with the publication of the Report can be directed towards an end product that will advance the standing of their company and bring credit to all concerned.