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An annual report is a comprehensive report on a company's activities throughout the preceding year. Annual reports are intended to give shareholders and other interested people information about the company's activities and financial performance. They may be considered as grey literature. Most jurisdictions require companies to prepare and disclose annual reports, and many require the annual report to be filed at the company's registry. Companies with issued shares publicly listed are also required to report at more frequent intervals (depending upon the rules of the stock exchange involved).

Content

Typical annual reports may include:^[1]

General corporate information
Operating and financial review
Director's Report
Corporate governance information
Chairpersons statement
Auditor's report
Sustainability and ESG information
Green annual report
Contents: non-audited information
Financial statements, including
- Balance sheet also known as Statement of Financial Position
- Income statement also known as profit and loss statement.
- Statement of changes in equity
- Cash flow statement
Notes to the financial statements
Accounting policies
Independent assurance statements
Other features

Other information deemed relevant to stakeholders may be included, such as a report on operations for manufacturing firms or corporate social responsibility reports for companies with environmentally or socially sensitive operations. In the case of larger companies, it is usually a sleek, colorful, high-gloss publication.

The details provided in the report are of use to investors to understand the company's financial position and future direction. The financial statements are usually compiled in compliance with IFRS and/or the domestic GAAP, as well as domestic legislation (e.g. the SOX in the U.S.).

In the United States, a more-detailed version of the report, called a Form 10-K, is submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.^[2] A publicly held company may also issue a much more limited version of an annual report, which is known as a "wrap report." A wrap report is a Form 10-K with an annual report cover wrapped around it.^[3]

Directors' Role

Statement of Directors' responsibilities for the shareholders' financial statements

The Directors are responsible for preparing the Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable Law of the Republic of Ireland, including the accounting standards issued by the Accounting Standards Board and published by The Institute of Chartered Accountants. Irish company law requires the directors to prepare financial statements for each financial period which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company and of the profit or loss of the company for that period.

In preparing these financial statements, the Directors are required to:

Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently.
Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent.
Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Company will continue in business.

The directors confirm that they have complied with the above requirements in preparing the financial statements. The directors are responsible for keeping proper books of account that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the company and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements are prepared in accordance with accounting standards generally accepted in Ireland and with Irish statute comprising the Companies Acts 1963 to 2009...

Missed Report Penalty

Failing to submit an annual report within the designated deadline can result in serious legal and financial consequences for a company. For example, in Estonia, failing to meet this deadline can lead to penalties, including fines and, in more severe cases, the potential removal of the company from the register.^[4]

History

In 1903, US Steel published an annual report whose financial accuracy was certified by Price, Waterhouse & Co in what is known as the earliest modern corporate annual report.^[5]

'Alternative' annual reports

Certain groups such as The True Cost Of Chevron Network have released 'alternative' annual reports as a way to highlight ongoing environmental destruction and/or human rights abuses committed by a particular company.^[6]