Volume 3, Number 6

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Simpler and Less Costly Is Better
There's no question that, in recent years, both the Internet and Sarbanes-Oxley have affected the annual report in ways that expose its underlying strengths and weaknesses. Ultimately, in response to these occurrences as well as to economic pressures in a post-9/11 era, many companies have elected to adopt new annual report formats.

A 2004 survey conducted by the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI), which included responses from small-, mid- and large-cap companies, supports the claim that more companies want an annual report that is easy to produce and costs less. Among NIRI's findings:

• Forty-seven (47) percent of surveyed companies have turned to a 10-K wrap.
  
  
• Ninety (90) percent of the surveyed firms that have moved to a 10-K wrap cited cost-cutting pressures. Sixty-three (63) percent mentioned ease of production.
  
  
• The average annual report print run has declined steadily over the last two years.

These statistics support the notion that annual reports that are less expensive and easier to produce are gaining favor with companies of all sizes.

Online Annuals Remain Popular
A vast majority of companies – nearly nine of every 10 surveyed by NIRI – offer their annual report in online form. Approximately 88 percent of companies surveyed produced online annuals, and 97 percent of those companies also have downloadable PDF versions.

What Does see see eye Recommend?
In most cases, though not exclusively, see see eye recommends the traditional annual report (full narrative and financial sections) as the most credible tool to appropriately convey a company's unique position and build confidence in its organization.

Recognizing that cost considerations and ease of production are certainly factors that can't be ignored, we've also suggested other approaches to our annual report clients, including:

• Producing a summary annual report
• Producing a simple HTML online annual report

Whatever format a company selects, the annual report should demonstrate a respect for the value of good design and presentation. It should be clear and straightforward in its messaging. Then it will be a memorable takeaway.

This article was excerpted from see see eye's latest white paper, "Today's Annual Report: Achieving Production Ease and Lowering Costs Are Behind the Latest Trends." Click here to read the entire text.

How does your annual report stack up? Visit our Web site and take the NAIC test to see whether your annual is doing the most it can to be a highly informative communications document. Or, better yet, contact Lawson Cox to see if see see eye can help.

About Us

see see eye is an award-winning graphic design firm that helps Fortune 1000 companies and other organizations build stakeholder confidence. The firm uses strategic creative design and effective message development to produce annual reports, branded collateral programs, Web sites and other communications targeted to investors, customers, employees and community members. Additional information can be found at the company's Web site, www.seeseeeye.com.