What’s Included in an Annual Report Design?

Design agency Perth and Melbourne

Annual reports are documents that present important corporate information. You probably know that every business, including the public sector, non-profits, and nowadays even small businesses, send their annual reports to their shareholders, key stakeholders, investors, industry analysts, and even journalists every year.

Annual report designs narrate and disclose a brand’s overall performance, financial summary, achievements, and activities over the previous year. It also gives a quick glance into future plans. Thus, it helps shareholders and potential investors analyse a brand’s performance and lets them make informed decisions on future investments.

Essential Components of an Annual Report Design

Every business has its own legal requirements, which shape annual report designs unique to each industry. However, a typical annual report design includes four important sections: A letter from the chairman, a brief description of the business, management’s discussion and analysis and financial highlights and statements.

1. A Letter From the Chairman

Most annual report designs unfold with a letter from the chairman, company owner or CEO that provides a high-level summary of the financial condition and performance of the business in the past 12 months for the shareholders to review.

It is the main introduction, written with extreme care, as it must provide confidence to the existing shareholders as well as the potential investors. The section includes a brief summary of the various achievements and initiatives the board has taken— the challenges, current performance and a positive note on the future. The letter also includes a brief insight into the market, highlighting the opportunities for the company’s growth.

2. The Business Profile

Business profile section, also called the general business information of the annual report design, contains all the major information about the company. Its main focus is to help potential investors and shareholders quickly understand everything about the company.

It includes details such as:

  • The mission, vision, and culture of the company
  • Key products and services of the company
  • The board of directors and officers and corporate office
  • The investor profile
  • The competitor profile and
  • The opportunities and risk factors of the business

3. Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A)

The management discussion and analysis section of the annual report design provided by the management team contains information on how the company has performed financially. It provides an internal investigation of how the company has encountered challenges and delivered results pertaining to the vision and goals of the company.

The management team discusses important topics and provides detailed information on

  • New business acquisitions
  • New service or product launches
  • The opening of new facilities
  • New contracts or merges

The MD&A section also provides information on the revenue growth rate, risks, and uncertainties that the company can meet.

4. Financial Statements

The critical part of the annual report design is the financial statements section. It provides exclusive stats and details about the financial performance— how it has cleared its debts, the profit/loss, assets, liabilities, and other financial activities of the company.

Financial statements typically include

  • Balance sheets
  • Cash flow statements
  • Income statements and
  • Statements to shareholders

In general, annual reports are designed to have two parts. The first part narrates a beautiful story using infographics and photographs about the company, which includes the letter from the CEO, the general business profile and MD&A. The second part is the financial statements which represent the financial stats, making it easy for the shareholders to read and understand.

Annual Report Design Agency – Perth and Melbourne

Creating a compelling annual report requires a creative annual report design firm with professional expertise and experience. If you are looking for a professional annual report design company in Perth or Melbourne, contact our team at Blackbox Design. We specialise in creating stunning, readable, and uncluttered annual report designs for businesses in Perth and Melbourne.

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