How A Professional Annual Report Design Impacts Your Business Success

September 21, 2016 Uncategorised

Every year, Australian companies have a legal requirement to publish an annual report to show where they stand financially. Most of the time, these annual reports are a dull document filled with numbers. Some view annual reports solely as a legal and financial obligation. However, there are others who view them additionally as a marketing communication piece and a opportunity to promote the company and showcase its achievements for the year.

Here is a few reasons why a professionally designed annual report can have a direct impact on your business success.

Increasing Your Valuation
A well designed annual report will impress both existing shareholders, and also potential new investors. According to a study performed by the University of Miami, by their School of Business Administration, an aesthetically pleasing design has a strong impact on the valuation given to a company.

The respondents were made up of financial students, experienced investors and the general public. They were asked to rank companies based on how likely they would invest in them. It was found that the simple addition of one colour in an annual report, had the same effect as a twenty percent increase in revenue!

Although respondents previously said that the design of an annual report wouldn’t affect their assessment of a company, they still ended up placing a higher rank on companies who had an attractive report, over those who didn’t. This is why a professional annual report design will help you stand out from your competitors.

Employee Satisfaction and Recruiting Top Talent
When it comes to employee satisfaction, your annual report is a way to show existing employees how their efforts for the year have contributed to the company’s success. It is also a way to display the type of interesting projects that your company has worked on in the past and present.

This can help establish your company as a premier place to work at within your industry. Since your competitors are also likely reading your annual report, it can attract top talent from outside your company.

So, in addition to being a financial report and marketing communication, a professionally designed annual report can be used as a tool to recruit top talent.

Inspire Confidence In Your Company
A well designed annual report that clearly explains the company’s financial statements will inspire confidence and trust in your company. When a company’s financial data is poorly presented or difficult to interpret, it can make existing shareholders uneasy, and potential investors apprehensive about your company.

When you add well designed visual elements, such as tables, graphs and charts, you make it easier to identify your company’s financial successes. This will inspire confidence in your company, please your shareholders, and bring in new investors.

As you can see, a professionally designed annual report has a direct impact on your company’s:

  • Valuation from Investors and Shareholders
  • Shareholder and Potential Investor’s Confidence
  • Recruitment Efforts
  • Employee Satisfaction.

If you’re looking to create a professionally designed annual report, that has a direct impact on your business success, get in touch with us today and be sure to see a sample of the annual reports we have produced HERE.