2010
| 22 December |
Informed Magazine: Rethinking the basics of reporting.Companies need to rediscover the art of storytelling, Sallie Pilot explains in this analysis of recent corporate reporting trends in this months issue of Informed Magazine. |
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| 26 November |
Practicing what we preach – Today Black Sun launched their new look Corporate Responsibility section of their website.Corporate Responsibility (CR) is a vital component of Black Sun’s make up and something which we want to communicate to our clients, suppliers, business partners, employees and the community as a whole. Our new CR section not only reinforces our commitment to Corporate Responsibility, it also shows what we have achieved to date, our targets and our progress against these targets. |
| 22 November |
Chartered Secretary Magazine: Getting a head startDigital platforms provide an opportunity to improve corporate communications argues Henry Sanford, Digital Client Services Director at Black Sun, in this months issue of Chartered Secretary Magazine. |
| 18 November |
Triumph for Black Sun clients, BAE Systems, Amlin and Taylor Wimpey at 2010 ICSA awards.BAE Systems continue with their success from last year to pick up two awards for Best Annual Report and Best Risk Management Disclosure for FTSE 100; Amlin also pick up two awards for Best Annual Report and Best Audit Disclosure for FTSE 250 and Taylor Wimpey are awarded Best Strategy Disclosure for FTSE 250. |
| 18 November |
Inchcape take home the award for Best Annual Report & Accounts (Business) at the 2010 Accountancy Age Awards.Sighting Inchcape as a ‘clear winner ‘, the judges felt that the report provided a clear outline of risks the business faced and set out explanations of key performance indicators, with definitions, achievements and graphical support. |
| 11 November |
Award Nominations!Black Sun is pleased to announce that eight of their clients have been shortlisted for the upcoming major industry awards. |
| 09 November |
Xstrata's outstanding reporting recognised at the PwC Building Public Trust Awards 2010.Black Sun client, Xstrata, wins top award for 'Sustainability Reporting' and is highly commended in the 'Excellence in Reporting' FTSE100 categories of the PwC Building Public Trust Awards 2010. |
| 09 November |
Amlin highly commended in PwC Building Public Trust Awards 2010Black Sun client, Amlin, is highly commended in the ‘FTSE 250 Excellence in Corporate Reporting’ category of the PwC Building Public Trust Awards 2010. |
| 11 October |
Three Black Sun clients nominated for IRS Best Practice Awards.Go-Ahead Group, Tullow Oil and Xstrata have all been nominated at this year's IRS Best Practice Awards. |
| 11 October |
Rank Group shortlisted at CorpComms Awards.Black Sun client, Rank Group has been shortlisted for Best Annual Report - Private Sector at this year's CorpComms Awards. |
| 10 October |
CorpComms Magazine: Deciphering the path aheadCaroline Poynton considers how companies are coping with new regulatory requirements and the need to be transparent and engaging in their annual reports, with featured comment from Sallie Pilot. |
| 30 September |
BAE Systems shortlisted for Best annual report of the year at the 2010 CIMA awards.Black Sun client, BAE Systems has received another award nomination for their latest annual report at these 2010 industry awards. The shortlisting is based on the judges looking for an organisation which most clearly describes their strategy in the narrative section of their annual report. |
| 27 September |
Five Black Sun clients shortlisted for the 2010 ICSA Hermes Transparency in Governance Awards.Amlin, BAE Systems, Hays, Rio Tinto and Taylor Wimpey have all made the shortlist for a brilliant total of 13 categories at this year’s prestigious industry awards. |
| 14 September |
SEGRO Annual Report wins Gold at the European Public Real Estate Association Awards.Black Sun client SEGRO receives a Gold for their 2009 Annual Report at the European Public Real Estate Association (EPRA) awards as it stands out as a leading annual report within the industry and based on its compliance with the Best Practice Recommendations (BPR). |
| 03 September |
Black Sun clients shortlisted for 2010 Accountancy Age AwardsBlack Sun is pleased to announce that Rio Tinto and Tullow Oil have been shortlisted for the Annual Report FTSE 100 category and Inchcape for the Annual Report Business category at this years Accountancy Age Awards. |
| 01 September |
A warm welcome to Brett Simnett who joins Black Sun as Client Services Director.We are pleased to announce that Brett Simnett has today joined the Black Sun team as Client Services Director. Brett has over 18 years experience in the creative industry as a graphic designer, exhibition designer and account director. |
| 17 August |
Inchcape appoint Black Sun to create and develop their corporate website.Black Sun is pleased to announce that they are further developing their relationship with Inchcape by being assigned to develop an online identity and create a new fit for purpose corporate website and content management system (CMS). |
| 12 August |
Accountancy Magazine: Importance of CR not reflected in reportsBrian Hanney high lights findings from Black Sun's 2nd edition research, 'Talking the talk or walking the walk', on corporate responsibility (CR) reporting and comments on how the importance of CR is not being reflected in company reporting. |
| 03 August |
Financial Times: Business leaders eye joined-up reportingRachel Sanderson high lights Black Sun's latest FTSE100 research on corporate reporting trends and looks at the initiatives companies are undertaking towards integrating their financial and non-financial information. |
| 30 July |
Governance Magazine: Rethinking reporting?Governance Magazine discusses the top line issues raised from the panel sessions at Black Sun's Annual Reporting Seminar 'Rethinking Reporting' and high lights findings from Black Sun's FTSE 100 research into Corporate Reporting trends. |
| 28 July |
Black Sun Research: Companies still just ‘talking the talk’Yesterday, BP reported their first quarterly loss in the past 18 years, signaling the clear message that, like it or not, corporate responsibility is front page news. Despite that, more than half of company annual reports still present corporate responsibility (CR) as disconnected from their overall business and operations. |
| 27 July |
Black Sun clients achieve success at the 2010 ARC awards based in New York City.Burberry, Creston and Rio Tinto have been awarded at the global Annual Report Competition (ARC awards) which honours excellence in Annual Reports. |
| 21 July |
Trends and Opportunities: Online best practice reportingToday, Black Sun hosted a Breakfast Briefing to discuss companies’ varying online reporting strategies from communicating effectively with key stakeholders to fully integrated reporting programmes. |
| 15 July |
CorpComms Magazine - Online reporting: a world of possibility?Caroline Poynton examines the pros and cons of producing an online annual report and recent developments in the sector with featured comment from Henry Sanford, Digital Client Services Director, Black Sun. |
| 09 July |
Chartered Secretary Magazine: Top firms under fire over governance reportingFTSE 100 companies’ annual reports still approach governance reporting as a compliance exercise, argues a new report from Black Sun. Chartered Secretary Magazine high lights findings from Black Sun's research report Rethinking Reporting. |
| 21 June |
Accountancy Magazine: Annual reports lack governance detailPat Sweet high lights findings from Black Sun's annual analysis of FTSE 100 annual reports and comments on how the information provided in most companies' annual reports is improving in quality, but many are failing to respond to recent demands for more detailed governance information. |
| 18 June |
Guardian Sustainable Business: UK company risk management left to chance.FTSE 100 companies analysis reveals a lack of transparency over risk in most annual reports. Zara Maung high lights the debate and findings from Black Sun's Annual Reporting Seminar. |
| 18 June |
Black Sun Research: Reporting stands still but the world moves on.The latest edition of Black Sun’s annual analysis of Annual Reports found that most companies provide good content in relation to their business description, strategy and financial KPIs but challenging areas of reporting remain..... |
| 16 June |
Rethinking Reporting: Great & the good of corporate reporting gather at Black Sun annual seminarToday, Black Sun hosted a Rethinking Reporting Seminar which launched the findings of its latest research into FTSE 100 corporate reporting trends. |
| 25 May |
Communicating the character of your companyToday, Black Sun hosted a working lunch in conjunction with Tomorrow’s Company to discuss communicating the character of your company – the new agenda for winning investor and public confidence. |
| 21 May |
Communicate Magazine: Hands off?Why are annual reports often restricted only to shareholders: Namrita Sachdev reports in Communicate Magazine with featured comment from Sallie Pilot, Director of Research and Strategy at Black Sun. |
| 12 May |
Integrated: The future of reporting?Today, Black Sun hosted a Breakfast Briefing to discuss how Corporate Responsibility is becoming a mainstream business issue and having a transformational effect on how stakeholders view companies. |
| 04 May |
Chartered Secretary Focus Magazine - Getting narrative reporting rightGetting narrative reporting right has been something of a bugbear in recent years – not least due to regulatory changes. Sallie Pilot reports in Chartered Secretary Focus magazine on what progress companies are making – and whether it is of use to investors. |
| 01 May |
Governance Magazine: CR reporting newsGovernance Magazine high lights Black Sun's corporate responsibility (CR) research which looks into how companies are currently communicating with their stakeholders and how they demonstrate CR commitment within their Annual Reports. |
| 16 April |
Chartered Secretary Magazine - Companies falling down on corporate responsibility reportingKevin Eddy high lights the findings of recent Corporate Responsibility research undertaken by Black Sun. |
| 01 April |
Black Sun Research: Corporate Responsibility reporting - are companies talking the talk or walking the walk?More than half of company annual reports present corporate responsibility (CR) as disconnected from the overall business operations and strategy. |
| 16 March |
Black Sun to speak at ICSA Corporate Governance ConferenceSallie Pilot, Strategy and Research Director at Black Sun, will be part of a panel discussion to address “Reforming Corporate Reporting” at the 2nd ICSA Corporate Governance Conference. |
| 11 March |
CorpComms Magazine: Reporting the right messageCaroline Poynton looks at the role of online reports at a time when companies are trying to spend money wisely and adopt a serious tone to their communications - with featured comment from Sallie Pilot, Strategy and Research Director at Black Sun Plc. |
| 02 March |
The Sunday Times recognise Black Sun with AwardBlack Sun is proud to be ranked 58 out of the top 100 of the UK’s Best Small Companies to work for on their first entry into the Sunday Times awards. |
| 25 February |
Finance Week- The annual report: throw it out and start from scratch!Rachel Fielding, Editor of Finance Week addresses the ever increasing challenges when producing the Annual Report with featured comment from Sallie Pilot, Director of Research and Strategy at Black Sun. |
| 17 February |
Communicate Magazine: What does good reporting look like?Sallie Pilot, Strategy and Research Director at Black Sun comments in Communicate Magazine over the defining characteristics of the best annual reports. |
| 08 February |
Black Sun Charity bike ride- Challenge CompletedBlack Sun today successfully completed their 80km journey from Fulham to Brighton sea front and raised over £5,700 in donations, as part of their contribution to help the relief effort following the devastating earthquake in Haiti. |
| 28 January |
Latest client work update: Thomas Cook’s 2009 online Annual ReportThe Digital Communications team at Black Sun have today launched Thomas Cook’s 2009 online Annual Report, engaging investors and stakeholders via this interactive platform. |
| 26 January |
Black Sun to cycle ‘80 for Haiti’A team of Black Sun employees will be cycling 80km from their offices in Fulham to Brighton sea front on Sunday 7th February as part of their contribution to help the relief effort following the devastating earthquake in Haiti. |
2009
| 16 December |
Black Sun launch new websiteBlack Sun Plc, the corporate communications consultancy, has today launched its new website. |
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| 27 November |
Tullow Oil win the ‘Grand Prix’ at the 2009 IR Society AwardsTullow Oil capitalize on their success from last year’s awards to pick up this year’s 2009 FTSE 100 Award for the most effective overall Annual Report both in print and online. |
| 20 November |
NLMK win at the Russian Expert RA awardsNLMK, one of the world’s largest steel producers achieved success at the Expert RA awards in Moscow last night by being awarded the Best Annual Report in English. |
| 19 November |
BAE Systems are winners at the 2009 ICSA AwardsBlack Sun client, BAE Systems, pick up two awards at the ICSA Hermes Transparency in Governance Awards. |
| 20 October |
Award Nominations!Black Sun is pleased to announce that several of their clients have been shortlisted for the upcoming major industry awards that take place in November. |
| 01 October |
CorpComms Magazine: A responsibility to reportJoanne Hart considers how different companies report their corporate responsibility programmes, and the challenges that surround the issue with featured comment from Bronwyn Millar, Client Services Director at Black Sun. |
| 30 September |
Engaging Rank Group Stakeholders with a new Corporate WebsiteBlack Sun has transformed Rank Group’s Corporate Website to allow them to engage, inform and promote their activities to stakeholders via a quality online experience. |
| 23 September |
Burberry and Creston - Award WinnersBlack Sun clients celebrating success at the International Galaxy Awards. |
| 18 September |
VT Group have appointed Black Sun as their Annual Report providerBlack Sun is pleased to announce that they have been appointed by VT Group to provide an integrated corporate reporting programme. |
| 26 August |
Chartered Secretary Magazine - A little less complicationToo long, stuffed with boilerplate legalese or meaningless PR material, and overly complicated. Are Annual Reports as bad as some argue? |
| 12 August |
BAE Systems re-appoint Black Sun as their corporate reporting agencyBlack Sun is pleased to announce that after a successful three year partnership, BAE Systems have re-appointed them to provide their integrated corporate reporting programme. |
| 23 July |
Communicate Magazine: Reporting of KPIs and objectives increases, says Black Sun studyCommunicate Magazine high lights key findings from Black Sun's annual research on the best practice reporting trends of the FTSE 100. |
| 26 June |
Communicate Magazine: End of term reportWith this year’s annual report season now over, reporting agencies are taking stock, surveying the market, and seeing what now constitutes best practice: Neil Gibbons looks at the trends to emerge this year with comment featured from Black Sun. |
| 11 June |
Corporate reporting in uncertain times: Black Sun presented at the 2009 Nordic IR Conference in HelsinkiDavid Christopherson, CEO, presented to the Nordic region at the NIRC on 11 June in Helsinki. The presentation addressed how companies have changed their reporting and communications in light of the current financial crisis as well as drawing on comparisons between UK reporting and Nordic reporting. |
| 05 June |
Black Sun Research: Corporate Reporting Proves a Positive in a Negative Economic ClimateWith current economic uncertainty and the growing demand for increased disclosure and transparency making the annual reporting process more difficult than ever before, many companies are asking is it all worth it. |
| 26 May |
An invitation to the palaceBlack Sun's annual event high-lighting trends from within the Corporate Reporting world. |
| 29 April |
Halma is a winner at the 2009 Strategic Value in Corporate Reporting AwardsBlack Sun is pleased to announce that Halma’s 2008 Annual Report has been awarded for Best Strategy & Objectives by a FTSE250 Company. |
| 21 April |
A year at the palaceBlack Sun celebrate a year at their new offices in Fulham Palace. |
| 16 March |
Crisis weakens ties that bind in the UKForward-looking statements have "all but evaporated" from annual reports according to research by Black Sun Plc. |
| 26 January |
Tullow Oil CSR Report commended in ACCA AwardsBlack Sun is pleased to report that Tullow Oil’s Corporate Social Responsibility report 2007 received a commendation in the ACCA Ireland 2008 Sustainability Reporting Awards. |
| 23 January |
Black Sun presents best practice examples at IR Society SeminarDavid Christopherson, CEO of Black Sun, gave a presentation at an IR Society Best Practice Seminar on 15th January 2009 on why three Black Sun clients won IR Society best practice awards . |
| 22 January |
NLMK Report wins top Russian awardBlack Sun is pleased to report that the 2007 Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK) annual report was named as the Best Annual Report at the Fifth Annual Conference hosted by Expert RA, an independent national rating agency in Russia. |
| 15 January |
Steel Guru - NLMK annual report wins top awardsIt is reported that NLMK's annual report for 2007 was named as the Best Annual Report at the Fifth Annual Conference hosted by Expert RA. |
2008
| 05 December |
Governance Magazine - One Microsite or Two?Henry Sanford of Black Sun looks at how to get the best out of using microsites for corporate reporting. |
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| 26 November |
Black Sun celebrates success at IRS best practice awardsBlack Sun's client work won two of the most coveted awards at the Thomson Reuters Extel/IRS UK Investor Relations Awards ceremony. Held on 25 November at the Royal Hospital Gardens, Chelsea, these awards honour those companies that lead the way in th |
| 21 November |
CFO Europe - Natural LightFusing CSR information into financial reporting might be illuminating for some stakeholders, but it is often a challenge for companies to do. |
| 14 October |
Finance Week - Adding value to corporate reports through online imaginationOnline corporate reporting often does not take full advantage of the technology's features. Louise Ross of CIMA argues that the directors' reports and financial statements can be enhanced. |
| 10 October |
International Governance - Corporate reporting - two extremesBest practice continues to improve and the best reports are getting better. However, some reports have fallen behind by continuing to use old reporting models. |
| 10 October |
Chartered Secretary Magazine - The Great DivideThe chasm between best and worst reporting practice is widening, reveals latest research by Black Sun. |
| 10 October |
Accountancy Age - Gulf in corporate reports revealedThe gap between the best and worst FTSE 100 company reports is widening, according to a leading research company. |
| 10 October |
Three Black Sun clients shortlisted for awardsThree of Black Sun’s clients have been shortlisted in two categories for a best practice award at the Investor Relations Society’s annual awards ceremony. |
| 10 October |
IR Magazine - Fall in number of stand-alone CSR reportsThe number of FTSE 100 companies producing stand-alone CSR reports has fallen for a second consecutive year, according to new research from Black Sun, a corporate reporting consultancy. |
| 05 September |
HTML Annual Reports on the increaseThe number of FTSE 100 companies producing HTML Annual Reports has increased by nearly 30% (over 40% amongst survey respondents) since 2006 according to research by Black Sun Plc. |
| 01 September |
Shorter, better, simpler, lessIn July, the Financial Reporting Council launched a new initiative with the aim of reviewing the complexity of corporate reports. So, what's wrong - and how should companies and regulators change? |
| 31 July |
Tenable or tangential?Latest research conducted by Black Sun finds growing divide between best and worst practice in FTSE 100 corporate reporting. |
| 24 July |
Accountancy Age - Accountants and the crisis: CSR - man overboardThere has been a ‘substantial increase’ in the number of companies producing CSR reports, says consultancy Black Sun, which compiled the report. |
| 25 June |
KPI reporting improves under new disclosure regime.Latest findings from Black Sun’s annual year-on-year analysis of FTSE 100 corporate reporting trends reveals twice as many companies are specifically indentifying key performance indicators within their Annual Report in 2007 than they did in 2005. |
| 18 June |
IR Magazine - Scandinavian IROs lag behind the UK in business reportingKey performance indicators (KPIs) are sorely lacking in the majority of Scandinavian companies. |
| 22 May |
Accountancy Age - Sustainability reports should be independentThe top 60 FTSE companies have been criticised for not having sustainability reports independently verified by a ‘recognised’ accounting firm |
| 30 April |
Preliminary findings reveal 77% of companies identify KPIs in annual report.Black Sun's latest narrative reporting research builds on the year-on-year findings from "The Complete 100" – a comprehensive survey of the reporting practices within the FTSE 100. In preparation for the publication of the full report in June, we are |
| 18 February |
Data Strategy - Employee satisfaction leads non-financial KPIsA look at the findings of Black Sun's research on Key Performance Indicators detailing an analysis of annual reports from FTSE 100 companies with financial years ending from January to July 2007 |
| 12 February |
Only 3% of companies align sustainability to overall business strategyNew Black Sun research reveals only 3% of FTSE 60 companies are aligning sustainability to overall business strategy in both their annual report and their sustainability report. |
| 29 January |
Print Buyer - Death of reports is greatly exaggeratedArticle looking at the effect of the Companies Act on plc Annual Report hardcopies, featuring work and comment by Black Sun |
| 15 January |
CorpComms Magazine - Worth a read?Excerpt from the latest article on trends in narrative reporting with comment from Sallie Cooke Pilot, Director of Corporate Reporting at Black Sun. |
2007
| 05 December |
Merged Taylor Wimpey appoints Black SunFollowing a competitive pitch, Taylor Wimpey plc has appointed Black Sun Plc to produce the 2007 Annual Report and Corporate Responsibility Report. |
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| 25 October |
Rank Group appoints Black Sun to produce 2007 reportsEuropean gaming business chooses Black Sun to produce the 2007 Annual Report and Annual Review. |
| 24 August |
Black Sun appointed to produce the TNS Annual ReportFollowing a competitive pitch, Taylor Nelson Sofres plc (TNS) has appointed Black Sun Plc to produce its 2007 Annual Report. |
| 23 August |
Black Sun appointed to digital accountTomorrow Communications appoints Black Sun to digital account. |
| 13 August |
IR Magazine - State of the artAdam Piore talks to companies and designers about this year’s best annual reports, including comment from Paul Edison, Creative Director of Black Sun |
| 09 August |
Real IR - Annual Report Review 2007Exert from Dawn Cowie’s review of annual reports featuring Black Sun research and comment from Sallie Cooke Pilot. |
| 19 July |
Data Strategy - Annual reports enter ‘new world’ with KPIsData Strategy profiles the findings of Black Sun's latest research pieces, 'The complete 100' and 'From the inside out', with comment from Sallie Pilot, Director of Corporate Reporting. |
| 05 July |
Accountancy Age - Glossing over the issueArticle examining business environmental awareness, featuring results from Black Sun's "From the inside out". |
| 04 July |
Black Sun wins at the HR Excellence Awards 2007Black Sun is proud to announce a win in the Growing Business category at the 2007 HR Excellence Awards. |
| 01 July |
Accountancy - UK narrative reporting improvesNarrative reporting in the UK is improving although further progress could be made, according to recent studies of the FTSE 100. |
| 20 June |
Black Sun highlights the benefit behind company reportingToday saw the launch of ‘From the inside out’, Black Sun’s research report examining the case for real business benefit behind the practice of company reporting. |
| 20 June |
Finance Talking - Black Sun highlights the benefit behind company reportingBlack Sun’s latest research report examines the case for real business benefit, behind the practice of company reporting. |
| 01 June |
IR Magazine - Reporting quality shoots up among top 100The past 12 months herald significant improvements: Clare Harrison highlights the findings of "The Complete 100", Black Sun's latest narrative reporting analysis. |
| 25 May |
Almost 80% of FTSE 100 report financial KPIsBlack Sun’s latest narrative reporting analysis, ‘The Complete 100: Where are we now?’ examines the most recently published reports of the FTSE 100 December year end companies. |
| 10 May |
Accountancy Age - Insider Business Club: annual reportsIs your annual report a useful business tool or a waste of paper and ink? Our experts discuss the issues. |
| 09 May |
Data Strategy - Companies slow to improve on KPI reportingFindings from Black Sun's research report, "The 37 to date" examined in the May issue of Data Strategy. |
| 24 April |
Black Sun sweeps corporate reporting categories at the IRS AwardsBlack Sun’s clients walked away from the 2007 IR Best Practice Awards with the two most coveted awards of the evening: FTSE 100 & 250 Best Annual Report: Most Effective Communication. |
| 10 April |
Where do we go from here?Following the recent upheaval in the corporate reporting environment, Black Sun present their findings from ‘The 37 to date’. |
| 29 March |
Black Sun re-designs Durrants’ corporate websiteBlack Sun have redesigned the Durrants corporate website to communicate more powerfully Durrants’ unique offering. Durrants is the UK’s largest media planning, monitoring and evaluation agency. |
| 19 March |
Black Sun retains United Utilities PlcFollowing a competitive pitch involving 5 corporate reporting agencies, Black Sun has retained United Utilities as a client for a further term of 3 years. |
| 18 January |
Accountancy Age - Call to highlight risks in company reportsPenny Sukhraj of Accountancy Age reports on the ASB report noting that companies are failing to highlight the subjects of most concern to them in their annual reporting. Black Sun research featured. |
| 16 January |
IR Magazine - Room for improvementCorporate reporting improving in quality but still lacks forward-looking information: with comment from Sallie Cooke Pilot of Black Sun Plc. |
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We have been privileged to work with some extraordinary clients over the past year to develop their Corporate Reporting and Communications programmes. Our 2012 yearbook brings to life how we partner with our clients to integrate their reporting, build unique investment identities and deliver compelling stories through print and interactive media.
In June 2012, we hosted our annual conference – the UK’s only conference focused exclusively on Corporate Reporting. The day provided a forum for many insightful and energetic discussions of the hot topics in Corporate Reporting, and was enjoyed by more than 100 delegates representing the FTSE 100, FTSE 250, legal and accounting bodies.
• Email us to recieve the summary of the day
