The economic crisis, evolving legislation, peer group pressure and the ever-increasing demands from stakeholders for more information from corporates, have dramatically altered the corporate reporting landscape, and in particular, the narrative content of Annual Reports. At Black Sun we believe that high quality reporting can set a business part from its peers and increase confidence in its future sustainability. The purpose of this research is therefore to build the business case for companies to invest further in their reporting.

Using data gathered from our annual corporate reporting conference, which was attended by from FTSE 100 & 250, investor, legal and accounting bodies and the media, we made the following findings:

• 59% of companies agreed that the Annual Report process enhanced or facilitated internal communications within the company
• 78% believed that reporting can improve the trust and confidence which investors have in the company
• 67% of respondents believed that increased transparency and disclosure led to close alignment between internal and external reporting
• 49% agreed that increasing transparency and disclosure makes investors focus on the long-term rather than the short-term value of a company

Sallie Pilot, Director of Research & Strategy at Black Sun said “Enhanced reporting can be the key to strengthening a company’s reputation, credibility and competitive advantage. Through improved internal relations comes a greater understanding which can translate into improved transparency and accountability for external stakeholders. These improvements ultimately build greater confidence and trust with stakeholders, in particular investors, and can give stakeholders confidence in the long-term sustainability of the company.”