Annual Reports: Understanding your audiences
An annual report can and should be so much more than just an illustration of the past year’s financial statements and compliance. Every member of the delivery team will have a different agenda and communications goals. From the CEO, CFO and Marketing Director right down to the readership, each group will have different needs and requirements when it comes to telling the story of a year in their business.
Examples might be that the CEO may want to focus on the direction of the business, and the CFO on the financial management and results. The Marketing Director may have a different view altogether.
The key thing is to establish these messages and then focus on communicating them to the different ‘markets’. We often find that some of these audiences are often not considered or thought to be unimportant.
Below is a list of what we believe companies should consider as potential audiences to communicate their messages to:
Stakeholders
This is a broad term and could mean anybody who has an interest or involvement in the organisation. It’s not a particularly useful term.
The Board and Trustees
This is a given, all annual reports communicate with the Board and Trustees. This group of people has given their time and expertise to the company and tends to be the main focus of an annual report’s audience.
The management team
The report can offer the management team a wider insight into the business’s activities and aims for the future. It can be used as an internal comms document and help people understand things like restructuring, a shift in business focus or the launch or a new product or service.
The staff
Often overlooked, communicating to the staff can bring real benefits, enhancing engagement, team spirit and ‘buy in’. We often advise an edited version of the report to be created from the main report, just for internal comms.
Potential Investors
The annual report can offer an opportunity to highlight the investment opportunities. It can be used as a sales tool.
The general public
Despite the heavy financial data and compliance sections, an annual report can and should be a showcase for the year’s achievements. It might generate new clients, donations or aid recruitment.
It is well worth considering the wider audiences when creating the content and structure for your annual report.
If you would like help doing that, we can help you formulate a reporting framework and help with your messaging - get in touch.