Many companies, regardless of their form of ownership, annually prepare public reports on the results of annual activities. These documents serve as a source of information for the general public, and at the same time, they are visible evidence of the effectiveness or inefficiency of the organization.
The decision of the meeting of shareholders on the future fate of the company, public assessment of the organization's activities, etc., can depend on how well the annual report is prepared. In other words, a specialist or structural unit that develops the annual report should be aware that not only reputation depends on the quality of the final document, but also the further development of the enterprise.
Often, the task of preparing the annual report falls on the analytical department or other structural unit that carries out the functions of collecting information on the activities of the entire company for the annual period.
Depending on the type of activity of the organization and the nature of the audience for which the documents are intended, the report can be sustained in the style of internal documents or public information for a wide range of readers. The style of internal documentation is followed for reports presented to the founding staff and shareholders of the company. In this case, more attention in the report is put on financial performance, economic efficiency and performance in achieving the key objectives outlined in the plan.
For a public report, which, as a rule, is published on the official website for public viewing, a more detailed description of the organization's activities, its tasks and mission is required. A number of the information provided requires a detailed explanation, for which a separate section is being prepared. As a rule, analytical services are engaged in the development of a public report in close cooperation with public relations specialists, who have the opportunity to correct information depending on its significance.
Regardless of the nature of the target audience of the report, any final document is clearly grouped into sections. In the first section, as a rule, the tasks that were set before the organization and the results for their achievement are given. The following are financial results for the year and production results.
The final section, as a rule, is the company's social activities. As a rule, this information is contained in a public report, which provides the results of the company's socially oriented policy. As materials for inclusion in the report, information is taken on the awarding of representatives of the organization for high merits in the field of social support, the results of charitable activities, etc.
It should be remembered that when selecting information to be reflected in the report, it is necessary to preserve the objectivity of the information provided. This rule must be observed even if the results of the company's activities in certain indicators are far from ideal or indicate insufficient performance. Speaking of this, the report must reflect the possible reasons that led to such results, as well as fix the audience's attention to the firm intention to eliminate the problem in the future period.
