EDITORIAL: TOWARDS BETTER REPORTING

Over the past few years, a significant amount of additional content has been added to the annual report in relation to ESG matters, most recently with climate change reporting requirements under the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) framework. 

According to recent research from PwC, the strategic report has increased in length by almost two-thirds in the last five years, mainly due to how companies have dealt with incremental regulatory requirements, including those around ESG-related matters. 267 annual reports from the FTSE 350 were reviewed.

The research shows that these increased disclosures have often felt detached and the strategic relevance of them is frequently unclear. Overall, the review found relatively little change in the quality of reporting and minimal innovation.

The annual report is one of the key ways in which a company can communicate with its stakeholders and explain its story. “In the current environment where trust, transparency and accountability are key to a company’s success and credibility, corporate reporting has an increasingly important role to play. Quality reporting that stands up to scrutiny and tells a balanced story can ultimately set a company apart from its peers and build trust with stakeholders,” the report says. 

As well as analysing what companies are currently doing about reporting, the document provides some useful “quick wins” for making reporting more meaningful and impactful.

You can see the full findings of the research here.

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