How to create an annual report
Compiling an annual report in 7 steps
Your annual report publishes all the ins and outs about your organisation. Therefore, many departments and colleagues are involved in creating the document. How do you gather the information from all those departments and colleagues into a report? And on top of that, how do get it done in time? In this second part of the blog series 'How to create an Annual Report,' we will guide you step by step on your journey.
Step 1: Determine the chapter structure
In the first blog of this series, we gave you a list of topics that should be included in an annual report. Decide which topics you will group together in a chapter and then determine the chapter structure. The skeleton of your report is now ready!
Step 2: Decide who will provide what content
Now that you have created the chapter structure, decide who is responsible for the content of the chapters. Who must provide what information? And do they have to write the relevant chapters themselves? Or do they only provide information that the copywriter can use? Depending on who writes the texts, you determine the deadline for the content to be delivered by the various colleagues/departments.
Step 3: Appoint an editor
If you work with a copywriter, they will probably also do the final editing. If all colleagues write their own chapters themselves, someone has to merge and edit them to maintain unity in the whole document. Do take this into account in your planning.
Step 4: Merge and format content
Who ensures that the document is merged? Do you do this yourself or do you hire a designer for this? And what about images, charts, and the front and back cover? Do you use material from your image bank or do you need to create new designs? Of course you also take this into account when making your planning.
Beware of last-minute adjustments! Our experience is that in almost every annual report, and especially in the financial statements, adjustments are made right up to the last minute. If your designer has put the texts in the report, they will have to process the last adjustments themselves. Make agreements with the designer about his/her availability around the deadlines for your annual report. Or make sure you can customise the texts yourself.
Step 5: Determine the format(s) in which you publish the annual report
How do you present your annual report? Will it be an online report, a PDF or will the document be printed? Or a combination of these three? When you know this, you can make an inventory of what you need to publish the report. What is needed for the domain name of your online report? And how much time does the printer need to print the document?
Step 6: List all the deadlines
DeadlineS? More than 1? Yes, when creating an annual report, you often have multiple deadlines to manage. Firstly, there's the date by which the report needs to be filed. However, prior to that, the management report and financial statements also need to be approved internally. So, create an inventory of all the internal deadlines. Consider, for example:
- Auditors' review
- Control by the supervisory board
- Control by the board of directors
Step 7: Make a planning
If you go through all these points/questions, you can create a planning. In this planning, you list all tasks per person and all deadlines. This way, you ensure that you don't miss anything and submit the report on time.
Tip: Include some buffer time in your schedule as well. This ensures that you can still meet the deadlines in case of unforeseen circumstances.
Once you have the schedule ready, you'll notice that even a modest annual report can take anywhere from 3 to 6 months to complete. With such a time investment, you'll want to make the most out of the report. How do you do that? You'll find out in the third and final part of this blog series.