Annual Report Checklist

An annual report is a necessary document that summarizes accomplishments made and money spent on
achieving those accomplishments. The next Annual Report Action Plan will give you an understanding of how
to write such a report and what parts it consists of. The action plan focuses on the following categories:
 Annual Report Tips.
 Annual Report Parts.

1. Annual Report Tips.

 Review Accomplishments First. It is a common mistake to review activities at the beginning of annual
reports instead of focusing on accomplishments (especially mission-related accomplishments),
because usually stakeholders want to know what has been achieved and what strategic goals have
been met. You need to include accomplishments in your report and then connect them to activities
that have been carried out to make those accomplishments.
 Focus on Details. When writing your report you need to collect as much information as it is required
to describe your company’s operations and profits in detail. Then the report content will be complete
showing the detailed information on the company’s performance.
 Use Photos and Pictures. Many stakeholders who will read your report will not actually read it but
they will review pictures and photos that vividly show accomplishments. You will need to make
photos personally or hire a photographer who will make this work and prepare great pictures for your
report.
 Use Exhaustive Captions. Following this annual report tip allows you to create titles that
comprehensively yet laconically describe the main idea of paragraphs in your annual report sample.
Try to be creative and accurate when working on the development of captions for the report content.
 Use References. Your report will not be complete if it does not show references to both internal and
external sources of information used in the report. At the end of each part of your report you can add a
list of references. Alternatively, you can create a separate page in your report showing a list of all the
references used in the report.
 Humanize Statistics. "Humanizing" means adding profiles of individuals who have participated in
operations of your company and who have achieved positive results. You can add success stories in
separate parts of your report in order to show real people who have gained a benefit.
 Use Right Annual Report Format. You need to decide on the format you are going to use to write your
report. You can choose between Word, PDF, Excel, PowerPoint and other formats. Your choice will
depend on annual report requirements that are stated in your company.

2. Annual Report Parts.

 Financial Summary. It is a narrative that commonly describes revenue, net income and earnings. You
will need to use financial reports received from the account department of your company. Financial
Summary covers data of the last three years.
 Letter to Shareholders. It is a formal statement that covers your company’s performance and is
addressed to stakeholders. The CEO is usually responsible for writing the letter.
 Operations. This annual report section includes a series of articles and reviews about operations and
significant developments of your company. It consists of changes made to production, modifications
of products, entries into new markets, mergers and acquisitions, research and development activities,
changes in sales, and other news associated with operations carried out during the last year.
 Financial Statement and Tables. In this section of your annual report sample document you need to
create tables and spreadsheets that show revenue, expenses and earnings data in detail. Financial
Statement is the heart of the report because it covers the details of the success/failure of your company
in terms of the finances invested and profits gained.
 Information about Senior Management. This part of the annual report example gives general
information on the managerial staff of your company. It consists of names and photos of directors,
officers and managers.