The 2012 Deloitte survey of annual reports ‘Joined up writing’ is a comprehensive survey of listed company annual reports. It gives a clear view of the current regulatory focus, what is happening in the world of corporate reporting and better practice guidance for annual reports. The survey reveals an encouraging improvement in the levels and coherence of corporate reporting, but companies must act now to get ahead of reforms.

It also provides a perspective on how much the field of annual reporting has changed over the years and includes:

• an interactive PDF of the survey with enhanced functionality and links to useful information;
• identification of current hotspots in narrative and financial reporting;
• what the future holds - a round up of the latest initiatives to improve corporate reporting;
• more examples of better practices and tips on improving annual reports;
• an interactive highlights document, which can be viewed on PCs and iPads; and
• a mini survey on IFRS 8 disclosures;

Veronica Poole, Deloitte’s national head of accounting and corporate reporting, comments: “This is a potentially game-changing time for companies. A whole raft of initiatives, some voluntary, some mandatory, have come into force or are about to do so shortly. There have been changes in the Corporate Governance Code, new regulations from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, which introduce a concise, standalone report on the strategy and business model, and recommendations from several other bodies. The overall thrust is to encourage companies to provide more consistent and connected reporting with an emphasis on narrative and their business model.”

The survey is available on the Deloitte (United Kingdom) website.