Insider tips:
How to plan your annual report

Invest in planning and preparation

We use a proven 8-step approach to deliver clear, compelling reports that meet organisational objectives and audience needs.

Planning is the first step and is critical to project success.

Based on years of experience in coordinating annual reports and corporate communications projects, our planning supports your team to:

  • understand reporting requirements and meet legislative deadlines
  • use a Plain English approach to ensure understanding
  • deliver a consistent, on-brand report with repurposeable content.

OUR REPORT WRITING SERVICES

Planning your annual report

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1. Establish scheduling and timeframes

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2. Single point of contact

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3. Get upfront messaging direction from the CEO or Board

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4. Involve Design from the start

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5. Clarify protocols for internal and external final approvals

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6. Establish naming and version control conventions

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7. Confirm departmental/brand style guides

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8. Project wrap up

Insider tips on report planning

 Scheduling and timeframes

Planning of your annual or sustainability report often starts with a review of the previous report. It can be a great way to pinpoint what went well, where there is room for improvement, and what we want to do differently this year.

The master schedule should include who does what, when and oversight of project milestones.

We recommend a single point of contact for the master schedule and document – with built-in backup and contingencies.

Feedback and approvals planning

It’s critical to identify and schedule in feedback and approvals needed, particularly for executive and Board who may have limited availability. Establish protocols with the appropriate contacts for blocking out time in the diary for key contacts.

Contingency planning

It’s important to build some extra time into your schedule to allow for the unexpected or for information/data delays. Contingency planning is especially critical in report production where individual approvals or input can affect overall deadlines.

Communication planning

Just as important as the scheduling and due dates is the planning for your report messages and communication plan.

Ideally with input from key executive and/or Board members, establishing the theme and narrative of your report is critical to ensuring a consistent content outcome.

Keep it simple and aim for:

  • 1 major theme that reflects performance and reporting achievements, challenges and future outlook
  • 3-4 key messages within the report
  • key stats to showcase
  • supporting case study and content examples.

Report template planning

A mockup of the report template in a Word or Docs document helps to bring the structure and format to life, including any new sections or features. It creates the space for including specific messaging, section and data owners, and mandatory inclusions and forms the bones of the master report document.

Design planning

Get your Design team (or a designer recommended by us) on board from the early planning stages. They need time to plan for:

  • photo shoots or image sourcing
  • a choice of theme concepts in line with existing style guides
  • the layout and revisions schedule.

Naming and version planning

Annual reports usually involve inputs from a wide range of internal contacts. To ensure the accuracy of record-keeping around report production and to support fact-checking, we recommend a consistent naming convention for files, including version control tables.

See our guide to naming conventions and version control

Project wrap up planning

Work a project wrap up meeting into the schedule from the start, so you can review the report and the project process while it’s fresh.

OUR REPORT WRITING SERVICES