The Future of Narrative Reporting: Material Simplification?

With the publication in September of the long awaited Government proposals for the future of narrative reporting, companies can now take stock of the new proposed framework and begin to assess its implications.

The core elements of the proposals are in line with those which have been suggested by Government officials over the summer with a new proposed framework for narrative reporting which includes:

• A Strategic Report, aimed at shareholders, providing information on financial results, the business model, strategy, risks, remuneration and key environmental and social issues.
• An Annual Directors’ Statement published and best suited to presentation online, which will provide the detailed information that underpins the Strategic Report in a more structured and comparable way than is currently the case.

This seminar provided the delegates with a summary review of the recent Government proposals along with giving them a platform to discuss these initiatives and explore some of the Governments other driving aspirations in further detail.
The seminar also served to examine what the impact, benefits and challenges the proposals posed for companies in the future.

Some of the feedback included comments like:

‘The Black Sun seminars provide one of the few forums where representatives from a range of organisations can share their views and practical ideas in respect of changing legislation and regulation’

‘Very good group of participants and insightful disccussions’

‘Very good summary of the key proposals which formed a good structure for the discussion which followed’

•For further information on forthcoming Black Sun events, and to register, please visit: Black Sun Events

The Integrated Story

The context within which businesses operate is subject to fundamental change: companies are now required to behave well in their pursuit of growth, balancing the interests of their business with the interests of society and the environment. Reporting and business operations have always gone hand-in-hand, therefore it is important for companies to show how they are creating value not only for their shareholders, but for wider stakeholder groups over the long-term.

Users of Annual Reports are increasingly looking for financial and non-financial accountability – they want impact awareness to be echoed in corporate decision-making and reporting. This has paved the way for discussions on a new model of corporate reporting – ‘integrated reporting’ – which, according to the International Integrated Reporting Committee, should “demonstrate the linkages between an organisation’s strategy, governance and financial performance and the social, environmental and economic context within which it operates.”

At Black Sun, we carried out extensive research into the current state of play of integrated reporting on a country-by-country basis, examining a sample of over 100 companies from eight of the G20 countries, with representation from both developed and emerging markets.

This seminar served to provide a summary of this international integrated reporting research whilst providing an in-depth analysis of those companies we found to be ‘leading the way’. The IIRC were also on hand to discuss their role in the Integrated Reporting challenge and what they hope to achieve in developing the International Integrated Reporting Framework.

•For further information on forthcoming Black Sun events, and to register, please visit: Black Sun Events

Corporate Reporting: Innovation or Continuation?

As many companies begin the annual reporting process for 2011 and preparers are looking for inspiration to better their Annual Report and further engage with stakeholders, we felt the need to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of existing examples to help companies move their report forward in 2011.

Our research into FTSE 100 reporting trends allowed us to build an expansive and informative picture of what current leading practice looks like. It also illustrated that 2010 was a year which saw the leading reporters continuing to innovate and break new ground in the quality and presentation of their content, whilst those lagging reporters appeared seemingly content to continue as normal, thereby widening the gap between these two distinct groups of reporters.

This seminar provided up-to-date, published examples of current leading practice reporters in each of the areas we looked at in our ‘Telling the Story’ annual analysis of the FTSE 100.

In particular, we looked at the state of reporting in the following areas:

• Strategy
• Risk
• Governance
• Business model

This seminar proved popular with corporates and regulators alike and was attended by key individuals from Rio Tinto, Xstrata, Thomas Cook Group, Laing O’Rourke, Britvic, Kingfisher, Esure and Unilever along with representatives from the FRC and ICAEW.

Some of the feedback included comments like:

‘Very good. I particularly liked the use of relevant real-life examples’ and ‘very good quality, well delivered and very informative as always’.

•For further information on forthcoming Black Sun events, and to register, please visit: Black Sun Events

Telling the story breakfast seminars

Black Sun held two breakfast seminars in the month of July to present the findings of our annual analysis of FTSE 100 corporate reporting trends.

Now in its sixth year, our research illustrates how companies are meeting the continuing demands of stakeholders and regulators, to tell their story in an effective and meaningful way. While challenging areas still exist in reporting, the improvement in the quality of content and the way in which it is delivered relative to even five years ago, is noticeable; and this undoubtedly provides a solid foundation on which companies can build for the future.

Key themes which were also discussed at these seminars included how companies are:

• Conveying management plans and priorities through the strategy discussion (63% link KPI’s to strategy).
• Integrating CR into the business strategy (56% up from 36% last year).
• Responding to recent consultations and changes in the UK disclosure regime, such as business model reporting. (24% give a detailed description, up from 12% last year).
• Strengthening governance and risk disclosure.

One delegate commented:

‘Just seemed to be the best breakfast session yet – concise, factful presentation and good discussion.’

•For further information on forthcoming Black Sun events, and to register, please visit: Black Sun Events

Corporate Reporting Annual Conference – Exploring the Business Benefit

Black Sun Corporate Reporting held its 4th annual conference, which was the must attend event in Corporate Reporting, for all those that have an interest in where the future of Corporate Reporting is going and how to best communicate to investors and other shareholders.

Building on the success from last year’s conference, which saw in excess of 100 delegates from FTSE 100 & 250, investor, legal and accounting bodies and the media all joining in the debate; this thought provoking Conference gave delegates more insight into: the impact of recent reforms on transparency and disclosure; the trend towards integrating financial and non-financial performance and; the evolving needs, expectations and behaviours of stakeholders through web based communications.

The conference featured a keynote address by Charles Tilley, Chief Executive of CIMA, followed by a mixture of debate and discussion from industry leading experts, bringing delegates up to date with the ever changing environment of Corporate Reporting and offering practical tips and solutions to aid them going forward.

Immediately following the conference there was an elegant drinks reception, set in the picturesque grounds of Fulham Palace, which provided delegates with a fantastic opportunity to unwind and enjoy further networking with their peers.

The conference was aimed at individuals from key positions within Company Secretariat, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications and attracted representatives from companies such as AstraZeneca, BAE Systems, BG Group, BT Group, Centrica, GSK, Rio Tinto, RSA Insurance, Tullow Oil and Unilever. Other relevant industry bodies also included individuals from the ABI, ACCA, CIMA, Deloitte, PwC, ICSA, Investor Relations Society, Tomorrow’s Company and Railpen Investments.

Some of the feedback included comments such as:

‘Thank you for your excellent corporate reporting conference. Not only was the organisation and event management flawless; but also the subject matter, quality of speakers and breadth of the delegates were exceptional. Rarely amongst such events, I was left wanting more.’

‘I thought your event was excellent - there were some great speakers and the audience interaction made it a very worthwhile use of time. (The canapés were great too!)’

•A summary of the event and the seminars is available here

•For further information on forthcoming Black Sun events, and to register, please visit: Black Sun Events

Breakfast Briefing – Innovations in online reporting

With the Financial Reporting Council’s recent proposal permitting the publication of key shareholder documents in online format only - arguing that the printed version had been left behind by the explosion in internet-based communication - has this given companies further opportunity to engage with their shareholders in a more cost effective and timely way? However, one size does not fit all when it comes to online corporate reporting and there are many ways to maximize your budget to communicate effectively with your key stakeholders.
This seminar involved an informative round table discussion which provoked some interesting thought and debate around the challenges of online communications and discussed companies’ varying online reporting strategies from communicating effectively with key stakeholders to fully integrated reporting programmes.

The seminar also:

• presented the key trends in online reporting
• showcased best practice examples which conveyed different ways of presenting online content
• showed how the report should be integrated as part of a companies e‑communications strategy

•For further information on forthcoming Black Sun events, and to register, please visit: Black Sun Events

Breakfast Briefing – Integrated reporting gathers momentum

Integrated reporting continues to be a subject matter in high demand, which was confirmed by today’s interactive breakfast briefing, hosted by Black Sun Corporate Reporting and attended by representatives from FTSE 100 companies and advisory bodies.

This round table discussion questioned what is actually Corporate Responsibility (CR) and how should a company be communicating and reporting on CR? What are the obstacles to integrating CR and non-financial information into the Annual Report and how they can be overcome?

The seminar further discussed the needs of investors and what they are looking for and what individual companies are doing to report in an effective way, relative to their business strategy and industry.

One FTSE 100 delegate commented after the seminar, “Good seminar and excellent presentation, would recommend attending a Black Sun event.”

•For further information on forthcoming Black Sun events, and to register, please visit: Black Sun Events

Breakfast Briefing – Reporting business models

This highly popular seminar returned for its second session, proving as animated as the first, where representatives from the FTSE 100 and 250, along with advisory bodies debated over the definition of the business model and how it should be reported.

The debate was sparked off by a presentation providing examples of different approaches to business models from organizations around the globe.

Throughout the roundtable discussion, attendees shared their thoughts and concerns as to how the business model can be interpreted and subsequently how they can be reported.

The headline conclusion from the seminar was that each individual company and also each business sector should be identifying and subsequently reporting their business model in relation to their USP.

•For further information on forthcoming Black Sun events, and to register, please visit: Black Sun Events

Breakfast Briefing – International online reporting: reporting with no boundaries

The Internet has no boundaries so neither should communications when it comes to effective and creative online reporting. This breakfast briefing show-cased examples of international online reporting, concentrating on what can be learnt from our overseas counterparts, and provided further ideas and insight into improving an organisation’s online corporate communications.

In particular this briefing looked at:

• Online reporting trends (Annual Reporting and CSR Reporting)
• Bringing to life the investment proposition
• Online corporate communications

The seminar was well attended by key individuals from major FTSE companies to include: AstraZeneca, Burberry, Vodafone and Rio Tinto, where one delegate commented “Thanks so much for a very informative and interesting seminar and a good debate on the latest online reporting trends”.

•For further information on forthcoming Black Sun events, and to register, please visit: Black Sun Events

Breakfast Briefing – Reporting business models

From a corporate reporting perspective, one of the major changes to the UK disclosure regime is in the new provision of the Corporate Governance Code which states that the directors should include in the annual report an explanation of the basis on which the company generates or preserves value over the longer term (the business model) and the strategy for delivering the objectives of the company. But what is a business model and how should it be reported?

This seminar provided a forum for discussion and sharing of ideas on how some of these questions can be answered and also reviewed some practical examples of how other companies have looked to communicate their business model.

In particular the seminar discussed:

• Definitions of business models
• Relationship between business model and strategy and objectives
• How to communicate the business model through the Annual Report and;
• Examples of different approaches to business models

The seminar was well attended by key individuals from major FTSE companies to include: AstraZeneca, Babcock International, BAE Systems, Barclays, BT Group, Ladbrokes, Marks & Spencer, Schroders and Taylor Wimpey. One delegate commented, ‘A high quality event that promoted an intelligent conversation among practitioners about a very relevant issue.’

•For further information on forthcoming Black Sun events, and to register, please visit: Black Sun Events

Breakfast Briefing – Communicating the character of your company

As companies and investors continue to digest the provisions of the UK Corporate Governance Code and the recommendations of the Stewardship Code, it is clear that governance reporting will be under intense scrutiny over the coming months. In addition, with updated guidance from the FRC on board effectiveness due by the end of the year, there will be plenty for companies to consider when drafting their 2010 Annual Reports.

The challenge in meeting these new disclosure demands is how to demonstrate, through reporting, what the key issues are for ensuring an effective board while also evidencing the link between strategy, governance, remuneration and risk. This seminar provided guidance on how to address some of these issues and gave practical examples of leading governance reporting within the FTSE 100.

The seminar was well attended by key individuals from major FTSE companies to include: Aviva, British American Tobacco, Centrica, HSBC Holdings, Kazakhmys, Ladbrokes, Regus Group, Rio Tinto and Smith & Nephew. One delegate commented, ‘Well thought-out and instructive… Food for thought in trying to integrate the AR’.

•For further information on forthcoming Black Sun events, and to register, please visit: Black Sun Events

Breakfast Briefing – The defunct default – why isn’t e-comms working?

Since 2006 Companies have had the option to communicate with their shareholders via email and send them the link to the online version of the Annual Report. Yet the uptake from shareholders has been relatively low which is odd in such a digital age. This breakfast briefing looked at how to improve the sign up to e-communications and identified what should be in a best practice Shareholder centre that will help to improve communications with private shareholders.

The seminar presented ways to improve shareholder sign-up, ongoing shareholder engagement and examples of best practice shareholder communications from the UK and Internationally. It was well attended by key individuals from major FTSE companies to include: BAE Systems, Barclays, BP, British American Tobacco, British Sky Broadcasting Group, Burberry Group, Centrica, Home Retail Group, Rio Tinto and Severn Trent.

This thought provoking group discussed existing electronic communications with shareholders and how they can be improved; what makes a good Shareholder centre; how to improve the sign up process for e-communications and ongoing shareholder communications that keep shareholders engaged.

One delegate commented, ‘Seminar: Excellent, Presentation: Excellent’.

•For further information on forthcoming Black Sun events, and to register, please visit: Black Sun Events

Breakfast Briefing – Moving towards integrated reporting

What are the obstacles to integrating CR and non-financial information into the Annual Report and how they can be overcome? What goes in the Annual Report, CR Report and online? What do investors actually want and who has responsibility within a company to manage this? These were the key themes from our first Breakfast Briefing and our Rethinking Reporting Seminar that were further discussed and built on during this briefing.

The seminar was an informative round table discussion to provoke thought and debate around the challenges of integrated reporting from internal engagement to reporting on what investors actually want to hear. It was well attended by key individuals from major FTSE companies to include: 3i Group, Babcock International, Balfour Beatty, British American Tobacco, BT Group, Hunting, IHG Group, Millennium & Copthorne Hotels, Tullow Oil and William Hill.

The seminar also presented key findings from Black Sun’s 2nd edition research report ‘Talking the talk or walking the walk’, which identifies benchmarks, trends and good examples of companies integrating CR within their annual reports, gave an overview of best practice examples of communications from the UK and internationally, and high-lighted the benefits of integrated reporting to the business and stakeholder engagement.

Attendees left the seminar with ideas and encouragement for developing their integrated reporting where one delegate commented, “Very good format for an open discussion…, Everyone was engaged…, Very useful event – thanks to all involved!”

•For further information on forthcoming Black Sun events, and to register, please visit: Black Sun Events

Breakfast Briefing – Trends and Opportunities: Online best practice reporting

With the adoption of e-communications companies have the opportunity to engage with their shareholders in a cost effective and timely way. However, one size does not fit all when it comes to online corporate reporting and there are many ways to maximize your budget to communicate effectively with your key stakeholders.

The seminar was an informative round table discussion to provoke thought and debate around the challenges of online communications and discuss companies’ varying online reporting strategies from communicating effectively with key stakeholders to fully integrated reporting programmes. It was well attended by key individuals from major FTSE companies to include: British American Tobacco, Centrica, G4S, Hammerson, Taylor Wimpey, Thomas Cook Group and TUI Travel.

The seminar also presented trends in online reporting, best practice examples which showcased different ways of presenting online content, and showed how the report should be integrated as part of a companies e-communications strategy.

Attendees left the seminar with ideas and encouragement for future development of their company’s online reporting where one delegate commented, “Very appealing event, well staged. Thank you.”

•For further information on forthcoming Black Sun events, and to register, please visit: Black Sun Events

Annual Seminar – Rethinking Reporting

This Rethinking Reporting Seminar included three lively panel discussions with over 100 guests – including representatives from over 30 FTSE 100 companies, investor, legal and accounting bodies and the media – joining in the debate.

This thought provoking seminar gave delegates more insight into: the impact of recent reforms on transparency and disclosure; the trend towards integrating financial and non-financial performance and; the evolving needs, expectations and behaviours of stakeholders through web based communications.

It was also the basis to launch the findings of Black Sun’s latest research into FTSE 100 corporate reporting trends which found that most companies provide good content in relation to their business description, strategy and financial KPIs but challenging areas of reporting remain.

One delegate commented, “Great corporate reporting research report and seminar, as usual.” Consultant, Top UK Business School

• View a slide show of the event

• For further information on forthcoming Black Sun events, and to register, please visit: Black Sun Events

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Working Lunch – ‘Communicating the character of your company – the new agenda for winning investor and public confidence’

This round table discussion featured a stimulating debate addressing comments made by John McFall (Chairman of the Treasury Select Committee) at the 2010 ICSA Conference: ‘I cannot emphasise how important it is that business sets its own house in order…unless companies improve their own governance, or the institutions which ultimately own companies take steps to control them, pressure to legislate for such control will grow, and pressure for intensive, quite possibly inappropriate, regulation will build.’

The seminar was well attended by key individuals from major corporate and investor organisations including: BAE Systems, BBC Worldwide, BT Group, John Lewis Partnership, Marks and Spencer, Railpen Investments, Standard Life Investments and Thomas Cook.

The debate was kick-started by one of our FTSE 100 clients who shared their challenges and innovative approach to corporate governance reporting. One of the major conclusions drawn from the day was that the annual report is an opportunity for a company to communicate how it differs from its peers, not how it is similar.

• For further information on forthcoming Black Sun events, and to register, please visit: Black Sun Events

Breakfast briefing – Integrated, the future of reporting?

Corporate Responsibility (CR) is becoming a mainstream business issue and having a transformational effect on how stakeholders view companies. It has been a key point of discussion as companies try to rebuild the trust and confidence of their stakeholders.

The breakfast briefing was an informative round table discussion to provoke thought and debate around the challenges of integrating Corporate Responsibility (CR) reporting within the Annual Report and was well attended by key individuals from major FTSE companies including: BAE Systems, Centrica, Go-Ahead Group, Inchcape, Imperial Tobacco, Taylor Wimpey, The Rank Group and Thomas Cook.

The seminar also presented key findings from Black Sun’s latest research report 'Talking the talk or walking the walk', which identifies benchmarks, trends and good examples of companies integrating CR within their annual reports.

In addition, one of our FTSE 100 clients shared their experience of ‘moving towards a more integrated approach’ with their reporting this year and the Project Director of the Princes Trust Accounting for Sustainability Project gave an overview of their efforts to ‘Make integrated reporting a reality’.

Attendees left the seminar with ideas and encouragement for future development of their company’s CR reporting. One delegate commented, “Excellent. Very worthwhile. Thought provoking and stimulating. Excellent [and] relevant topic which is just emerging.”

• For further information on forthcoming Black Sun events, and to register, please visit: Black Sun Events