CorpComms Magazine

Last year, we saw a range of trends on the annual reporting front - and we expect to see more of the same this year, plus crucially, the possibility of a return to more communication in some quarters.

The first big trend last year was something that hit virtually every sector, but impacted communications more than most: the recession. The effect on corporate reporting and wider investor communications was a need for agencies to think smarter and develop new ways of doing things. In many respects that's simply a question of coming up with novel solutions to the same problems. But it also meant that clients looked for new ways to sort out logistical issues. Certainly, we saw more clients enquiring about online authoring systems last year than ever before and we'd expect more of that this year.

Next up is the move towards online reporting brought about by the change in legislation and the continual drive towards digital. Ironically, many companies without large shareholder bases have begun to question the need for full online reports in a recessionary environment. When the new legislation came into effect for the first time in 2007/08 there was a real leap towards improved online reporting. Last year was more about stabilisation in difficult times. We envisage quite a few companies playing catch up once more this year and driving their online reporting forward.

Finally, we believe that there might be a switch back to communication. The effect of the recession and the onset of online reporting has sometimes been to move towards a more commoditised, typographical reporting format. As we move out of recession, we expect more companies to seek out the value of a good, communicative annual report - in print or online.

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