Annual reports out of date

THE process of producing annual reports is a $250 million drain on Australian companies that had passed its use-by date, according to the National Institute of Accountants.

NIA national president Klaus Zimmermann said shareholders would be better served with more up-to-date company in-formation rather than an annual report.

“The annual report is basically a historic document. Companies should be more focused on providing accurate and current information to the investment community via their websites,” he said. “With the move to quarterly reporting, the NIA believes that the complete hard-copy annual report will soon be a thing of the past. If government departments, professional bodies and the like are added to the list, national savings could double.”