Sample pages (click to enlarge)
Addison’s latest research publication, United in Diversity? Trends and practices in European corporate reporting is a revealing and informative guide to current European corporate reporting practices. In analysing the annual reports of Europe’s top 100 companies, it assesses the extent to which narrative reporting is converging around a set of common standards and provides an overview of trends in corporate responsibility and online reporting.
European corporate reporting
The list of 100 leading companies is drawn from 12 different countries, but four nations – the UK, France, Germany and Switzerland – provide over two thirds of the sample, and over 70% of the total market capitalisation of the list. Reporting conventions are influenced far more by geographical differences than sector ones, but similarities between companies in the same sector are evident, particularly in industries such as telecoms, pharmaceuticals and financial services.
Reporting practices by country
Analysing the corporate reporting practices of companies in the four leading markets in Europe sheds light both on areas of common practice and the national idiosyncrasies that are so prevalent. German reporting is homogeneous and risk-averse whilst French companies pay particular attention to their place in society. UK reporting is heavily influenced by the demands of retail shareholders, whilst Swiss reporting shows how their regulators work closely with colleagues in the European Union.
Corporate responsibility reporting
European CR reporting is dominated by adherence to convention, safety in ‘box-ticking’ against external indicators such as GRI, and a narrow focus on communicating with CR specialists.
Online reporting
Online corporate reporting has matured rapidly, with the best examples of online reporting no longer mimicking what is printed, but now fully exploiting the functionality of the web.