'Reporting highlights how companies in the region are working towards achieving best practice reporting, and indicates some of the areas for development.' Sallie Pilot, Director of Research & Strategy, Black Sun

The findings of the report come at a time when the importance of good reporting is becoming more widely accepted in the region with many leading Russian organisations heavily investing and aspiring to becoming best practice reporters in line with international standards. There have been many diverse factors which have been driving this change in attitude, but two of them have particular significance: 1. Particular demand from investors and other stakeholders for companies to share their long-term strategic plans and provide a more holistic picture of their business 2. The growing global footprint of Russian companies means that there are an increasing number of expectations evolving from the new international shareholder base.

The Annual Report is increasingly being recognised as an opportunity to address these factors and focus on what investors and other stakeholders want to hear – joined up thinking, sound long-term objectives, evidence of strong management and a commitment to responsible business activity. However despite the evidence of the growing Russian appetite for best practice reporting, the Black Sun report has found that Russian companies still have some work to do if they are to meet the standards of reporting adopted by their FTSE 100 counterparts. In drawing these conclusions, Black Sun looked at six key components of best practice reporting – business model, corporate governance, strategy, sustainability, risk and markets and outlook – to identify reporting trends amongst 30 largest Russian Companies in 2011/2012, as determined by market cap.

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