Across the past two decades, annual reports have undoubtedly grown in size and complexity. New regulations, sustainability requirements and stakeholder expectations have each added layers of disclosure and messaging, while few requirements have been removed. The result has been an ongoing challenge for reporting teams: how to create a report that is comprehensive, compliant and credible without overwhelming readers?
Black Sun Global and Stratton Craig recently hosted a roundtable discussion dedicated to unpicking the question of how companies are keeping their reports material.
Among the topics covered, one theme emerged above all others: materiality is a principle that should shape the entire report. The organisations producing the strongest reports are not necessarily those with the shortest reports. It is those that focus on what matters most to their stakeholders, and position their reporting accordingly.
Materiality should be the lens through which every disclosure is assessed. Reporting should focus on:
A common concern was that content remains in reports simply because it was in last year's version. Over time, this creates reporting inertia, with content accumulating faster than it is challenged.
Judgements on what disclosures are material need to be refreshed annually, because topics that were important three years ago may no longer deserve the same prominence. The best reports begin not by asking, "What did we report last year?" but "What do readers need to know to understand this business now?"
Concise disclosures have become a major focus for many reporters, but participants were clear that reducing page count is not an objective in itself. A shorter report is only successful if it remains informative, balanced, and useful.
The real goal is to remove duplication, repetition and unnecessary detail while retaining the information needed to understand the business.
One participant described a multi-year effort to significantly reduce the length of a committee report by systematically removing repetition, challenging the language used and engaging auditors. The reduction was achieved through better judgement and stronger editorial discipline, not by compressing layouts or cutting valuable disclosures.
This reflects an important shift in mindset. Good reporting is not about saying less. It is about saying what matters more clearly.
A major obstacle to concise reporting is the cumulative nature of regulation and reporting frameworks.
New requirements are regularly introduced but existing disclosures rarely disappear. As a result, organisations often find themselves reporting similar information multiple times across different sections and documents.
This can create:
One practical recommendation from the discussion was to classify content into clear categories:
This simple exercise can reveal significant opportunities to improve focus and eliminate unnecessary duplication.
Many organisations are increasingly treating reporting as an integrated suite rather than a collection of standalone documents.
Annual reports, sustainability reports, investor websites and other digital channels all have distinct roles to play.
However, participants cautioned against assuming that moving content online presents its own challenges, such as:
A website should not become a dumping ground for disclosures removed from the annual report. Instead, organisations should determine where information is most useful and ensure clear signposting between channels.
The focus should be on creating an integrated reporting ecosystem rather than simply relocating content.
Sustainability reporting remains one of the most challenging aspects of report structure. Many organisations continue to struggle with balancing integration and duplication.
If sustainability only appears in a dedicated section, it can feel disconnected from business performance and strategy. Yet repeating sustainability messages throughout the report undermines efforts to improve conciseness.
The most effective approach discussed was to establish a small number of core sustainability messages at the outset of the reporting process.
These messages can then be reflected consistently in:
The emphasis should vary depending on the purpose of each section, while detailed metrics and evidence sit in dedicated sustainability disclosures.
Perhaps most importantly, sustainability claims must be authentic. Statements such as "sustainability is embedded across everything we do" need to be supported by clear evidence demonstrating how sustainability influences decisions, strategy and performance.
While regulation often receives the most attention, many reporting challenges are fundamentally editorial problems.
Several factors repeatedly contribute to unnecessary report length:
Strong editorial oversight can often deliver significant improvements without changing the underlying disclosures.
Leading reporting teams increasingly act as editors as well as project managers, creating:
In many cases, the ability to write more clearly becomes the single most effective way to report more concisely.
An emerging discussion centred on how investors and analysts increasingly use AI-powered tools to interrogate corporate disclosures.
These tools are being used to assess:
Clear headings, consistent terminology, explicit discussion of targets and transparent explanations of progress all make information easier to find for both human readers and AI systems. This also highlights the importance of good report design.
Ultimately, strong reporting relies on ownership. The most successful examples discussed central reporting teams that establish the report's purpose early, align contributors around key messages and maintain control of the overall narrative.
Without this central authority, reports can become influenced by internal politics, with prominence determined by the loudest voices rather than the most material issues.
Good governance ensures that space in the report is earned through importance, not influence.
Effective reporting is not about producing a shorter report, but ensuring every disclosure earns its place by being material, useful and clearly expressed. Strong governance, editorial discipline and an integrated approach across reporting channels are essential to creating a coherent corporate story that works for both human readers and AI
If you are interested in exploring this topic more, please get in touch:
Bob Crosbie-Dawson, Head of Business Development
bcrosbie-dawson@blacksun-global.com
About Black Sun
Black Sun Global is a stakeholder advisory and engagement agency that's been driving transformation and positive change for ambitious brands for more than 20 years. With deep expertise in disclosure and reporting, ESG, sustainability, and digital engagement, we reshape how organisations connect with customers, investors, employees, and the wider world.
We are trusted partners to some of the most influential global organisations, sparking innovation and sustainable performance through our strategic insights, partnerships, and proprietary technologies.
As founders of the Positive Change Group, we are on a mission to create a new kind of stakeholder relations partner. Our world-class specialists work closely with executive leadership teams to protect reputations, inspire trust, and promote responsible business practices - building resilience and long-term value in a rapidly changing world.
For more information, please visit: www.blacksun-global.com
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