The future of the annual report
Kuoni wins two gold awards in the 2009 Annual Report Ratings.
Three things were new at the 2009 annual report rating. Firstly, the location: the lecture hall of the Zurich University of the Arts and its 360-degree projection option for the presentation was a worthy setting for the event. Secondly, the awards were presented for the first time for the best online presence of a company and thirdly, the number of evaluated annual reports was increased from 150 to 240. As in the previous year, the HarbourClub, the association of heads of communication of major Swiss companies, was responsible for the award ceremony, the overall implementation of the rating and the coordination of the three juries. The guest speech was given by Prof. Dr. Miriam Meckel, MCM Institute University of St. Gallen. The rating is made possible by the support of Linkgroup, KPMG and Sihl+Eika.
Enabling Conversations
In her presentation, Prof. Dr. Miriam Meckel argued that the traditional printed annual report is reaching its limits. However, this is also an opportunity if it is possible to use online reporting to ensure that all contact groups have central access to the company's reporting and external presentation. The communicative goal must be to provide the data that is necessary for a dialog about the corporate strategy. This means "enabling conversations", which is possible with the means of Web 2.0 in the sense of a differentiated, flexible and participative target group approach.
Kuoni the undisputed winner
As Gaby Tschofen, President of the Readers' Jury, explained, it soon became clear to the seven jury members which of the annual reports belonged at the top: "With Kuoni, we are honoring a company this year that does not see its annual report as a tedious compulsory exercise, but has used the opportunity to present itself in its entirety and with relish." Second place went to last year's third-placed company, Credit Suisse. Once again, the big bank succeeded in providing a well-structured overview of events in the financial world and its own results. Birgit Voigt, President of the Club Zürcher Wirtschaftsjournalisten association, particularly praised the fact that the depth of analysis in the CS annual report was above average compared to other annual reports.
Novartis was again among the medal winners in 2009. This time it brought its long-standing successful concept to third place: a compact annual report in black and white, which succeeds in reconciling complexity, seriousness and the presentation of its own success and making its own business accessible to an interested public.
Kuoni also ahead in the design rating
After the design jury did not award a first place last year, a clear winner emerged in 2009: Kuoni. And so a beaming Peter Brun, Head of Corporate Communications, received his second diploma to the applause of around two hundred guests. Peter Vetter, Coande, head of the design jury, commented: "What Kuoni has achieved this year, not only in the area of the annual report, but in all its communications in general, speaks for a carefully planned, long-term overall strategy." Second place in the design category went to Basellandschaftliche Kantonalbank, followed by Migros, which came third as in the previous year.
Value reporting is gradually improving
For the first time, the specialty chemicals company Sika took first place in the Value Reporting Rating. Its annual report is characterized by a clear and extremely informative presentation of the relevant data and stands out in the area of non-financial information and trend analysis. Roche took second place. This annual report impresses with very good information in all categories, with the best marks being achieved in the explanation of the annual results by management and in the area of sustainability. Syngenta's report, which came in third place, was also rated very highly.
"In recent years, the quality of the information provided has gradually increased and transparency for investors has improved," explained Prof. em. Dr. Rudolf Volkart. It is thanks to his initiative that value reporting found its way into today's annual report rating more than ten years ago. Prof. Volkart chaired the Value Reporting jury for the last time in 2009 and is handing over the baton to Prof. Alexander Wagner from the Institute of Swiss Banking at the University of Zurich.
Online prizes awarded for the first time
For the first time, the evaluation of Swiss companies' online presences was also integrated into the annual report rating. A separate jury of specialists and students from the HWZ University of Applied Sciences in Business Administration Zurich analyzed the same 240 companies that were also included in the annual report rating in an elaborate process. The evaluation criteria were based on a grid that Edition Renteria has been using for ten years. The Schaffhausen-based technology company Georg Fischer took first place in the online rating, followed by Credit Suisse and Roche.
Andreas Jäggi
Which annual reports were evaluated?
The annual reports of all listed companies represented in the SPI were included in the 2009 annual report rating. In addition, the 50 companies with the highest turnover in 2008, the 15 insurance companies with the highest gross premiums in 2007 and the 25 banks with the highest total assets in 2007 (sample of 240 reports).
How was it chosen?
Prof. Rudolf Volkart from the Swiss Banking Institute evaluated the annual reports together with students according to defined content criteria for value reporting. At the same time, eleven experts under the direction of Peter Vetter, Studio Coande, dealt with the design, visualization, typography and implementation of the annual reports and compiled the design jury's ranking list. The addition of both ratings according to ranking points resulted in the top 20, from which the third jury finally selected the overall winners of the 2009 annual report rating.
In-depth information on the topic of the annual report:
Interested parties can download the PDF of a 48-page brochure on the annual report rating at www.harbourclub.ch . It also contains the presentation by Prof. Miriam Meckel and further information on the winners of the individual categories.
On the HarbourClub website you will find a link to the detailed lists of the Design Rating and Value Reporting and to the Bilanz article on the 2008 annual reports.
KPMG's publication "Reading and understanding annual reports" provides a quick introduction and practical help. Questions on the balance sheet, income statement, statement of changes in equity, cash flow statement and notes are answered in a clear way.
The 5th revised edition will be published in the fall of 2009. Pre-orders for the free publication are already possible: [email protected], Fax: 044 249 35 92.
Enabling Conversations
In her presentation, Prof. Dr. Miriam Meckel argued that the traditional printed annual report is reaching its limits. However, this is also an opportunity if it is possible to use online reporting to ensure that all contact groups have central access to the company's reporting and external presentation. The communicative goal must be to provide the data that is necessary for a dialog about the corporate strategy. This means "enabling conversations", which is possible with the means of Web 2.0 in the sense of a differentiated, flexible and participative target group approach.
Kuoni the undisputed winner
As Gaby Tschofen, President of the Readers' Jury, explained, it soon became clear to the seven jury members which of the annual reports belonged at the top: "With Kuoni, we are honoring a company this year that does not see its annual report as a tedious compulsory exercise, but has used the opportunity to present itself in its entirety and with relish." Second place went to last year's third-placed company, Credit Suisse. Once again, the big bank succeeded in providing a well-structured overview of events in the financial world and its own results. Birgit Voigt, President of the Club Zürcher Wirtschaftsjournalisten association, particularly praised the fact that the depth of analysis in the CS annual report was above average compared to other annual reports.
Novartis was again among the medal winners in 2009. This time it brought its long-standing successful concept to third place: a compact annual report in black and white, which succeeds in reconciling complexity, seriousness and the presentation of its own success and making its own business accessible to an interested public.
Kuoni also ahead in the design rating
After the design jury did not award a first place last year, a clear winner emerged in 2009: Kuoni. And so a beaming Peter Brun, Head of Corporate Communications, received his second diploma to the applause of around two hundred guests. Peter Vetter, Coande, head of the design jury, commented: "What Kuoni has achieved this year, not only in the area of the annual report, but in all its communications in general, speaks for a carefully planned, long-term overall strategy." Second place in the design category went to Basellandschaftliche Kantonalbank, followed by Migros, which came third as in the previous year.
Value reporting is gradually improving
For the first time, the specialty chemicals company Sika took first place in the Value Reporting Rating. Its annual report is characterized by a clear and extremely informative presentation of the relevant data and stands out in the area of non-financial information and trend analysis. Roche took second place. This annual report impresses with very good information in all categories, with the best marks being achieved in the explanation of the annual results by management and in the area of sustainability. Syngenta's report, which came in third place, was also rated very highly.
"In recent years, the quality of the information provided has gradually increased and transparency for investors has improved," explained Prof. em. Dr. Rudolf Volkart. It is thanks to his initiative that value reporting found its way into today's annual report rating more than ten years ago. Prof. Volkart chaired the Value Reporting jury for the last time in 2009 and is handing over the baton to Prof. Alexander Wagner from the Institute of Swiss Banking at the University of Zurich.
Online prizes awarded for the first time
For the first time, the evaluation of Swiss companies' online presences was also integrated into the annual report rating. A separate jury of specialists and students from the HWZ University of Applied Sciences in Business Administration Zurich analyzed the same 240 companies that were also included in the annual report rating in an elaborate process. The evaluation criteria were based on a grid that Edition Renteria has been using for ten years. The Schaffhausen-based technology company Georg Fischer took first place in the online rating, followed by Credit Suisse and Roche.
Andreas Jäggi
Which annual reports were evaluated?
The annual reports of all listed companies represented in the SPI were included in the 2009 annual report rating. In addition, the 50 companies with the highest turnover in 2008, the 15 insurance companies with the highest gross premiums in 2007 and the 25 banks with the highest total assets in 2007 (sample of 240 reports).
How was it chosen?
Prof. Rudolf Volkart from the Swiss Banking Institute evaluated the annual reports together with students according to defined content criteria for value reporting. At the same time, eleven experts under the direction of Peter Vetter, Studio Coande, dealt with the design, visualization, typography and implementation of the annual reports and compiled the design jury's ranking list. The addition of both ratings according to ranking points resulted in the top 20, from which the third jury finally selected the overall winners of the 2009 annual report rating.
In-depth information on the topic of the annual report:
Interested parties can download the PDF of a 48-page brochure on the annual report rating at www.harbourclub.ch . It also contains the presentation by Prof. Miriam Meckel and further information on the winners of the individual categories.
On the HarbourClub website you will find a link to the detailed lists of the Design Rating and Value Reporting and to the Bilanz article on the 2008 annual reports.
KPMG's publication "Reading and understanding annual reports" provides a quick introduction and practical help. Questions on the balance sheet, income statement, statement of changes in equity, cash flow statement and notes are answered in a clear way.
The 5th revised edition will be published in the fall of 2009. Pre-orders for the free publication are already possible: [email protected], Fax: 044 249 35 92.
Prof. Dr. Rudolf Volkart, Chairman of Value Reporting, and Dirk Schütz, Editor-in-Chief of Bilanz.
Members of the readers' jury: Gaby Tschofen, Andreas Jäggi, Lukas Marty and Birgit Voigt.
Prof. Dr. Miriam Meckel, MCM Institute University of St. Gallen.
