Investigating presentational change in U.K. annual reports: a longitudinal perspective.

Section (a) (b) n % n % Table of contents 1989 35 15 2 1

2004 15 16 1 1 Financial highlights 1989 17 9 112 62

2004 13 16 37 47 Chairman's statement 1989 154 67 30 13

2004 63 75 13 15 Chief executive's

statement 1989 49 91 15 28

2004 38 72 17 32 Operating & financial

review 1989 4 100 4 100

2004 12 57 8 38 Operating review 1989 120 98 44 36

2004 28 82 12 35 Financial review 1989 14 64 15 68

2004 41 65 24 38 Directors' report 1989 15 6 3 1

2004 3 3 2 2 Statement of directors'

responsibilities 1989

2004 2 4 Remuneration report 1989

2004 92 100 Corporate governance 1989

2004 4 5 1 1 Auditors' report 1989 1 1

2004 Advisors 1989

2004 6 15 1 3 Board of directors 1989 105 55 1 1

2004 61 73 Corporate social

responsibility 1989 17 71

2004 22 46 5 10 Historical record 1989 6 3 27 14

2004 1 1 3 4 Shareholders'

information 1989 4 6 6 9

2004 1 2 4 7 Annual general meeting 1989 6 3

2004 Financial calendar 1989 1 1 2 2

2004 Total (f,g) 1989 210 88 185 77

2004 81 86 93 99

Companies Companies

With With

Charts Tables

(d) (d) Generic Annual Report Sample

Section (a) (b) n % n % Table of contents 1989 5 2 1 1

2004 1 1 -- -- Financial highlights 1989 1 1 37 20

2004 3 4 9 11 Chairman's statement 1989 2 1 11 5

2004 2 2 6 7 Chief executive's

statement 1989 4 7 2 4

2004 2 4 9 17 Operating & financial

review 1989 1 25

2004 4 19 15 71 Operating review 1989 12 10 15 12

2004 6 18 14 41 Financial review 1989 3 14

2004 1 2 31 49 Directors' report 1989 96 40

2004 32 36 Statement of directors'

responsibilities 1989

2004 Remuneration report 1989

2004 4 4 83 90 Corporate governance 1989

2004 3 4 21 26 Auditors' report 1989 1 1

2004 Advisors 1989

2004 3 8 Board of directors 1989

2004 2 2 Corporate social

responsibility 1989

2004 3 6 3 6 Historical record 1989 1 1 190 100

2004 73 100 Shareholders'

information 1989 13 20

2004 2 3 18 30 Annual general meeting 1989 1 1

2004 1 3 Financial calendar 1989 1 1 3 3

2004 2 1 Total (f,g) 1989 22 9 190 79

2004 28 30 76 81

Size Mean Generic Annual Report Sample Page

Section (a) (b) Count (e) Table of contents 1989 1.03

2004 1.00 Financial highlights 1989 1.20

2004 1.47 Chairman's statement 1989 2.88

2004 2.73 Chief executive's

statement 1989 6.89

2004 4.96 Operating & financial

review 1989 12.42

2004 8.17 Operating review 1989 11.46

2004 10.15 Financial review 1989 3.26

2004 4.67 Directors' report 1989 3.07

2004 3.03 Statement of directors'

responsibilities 1989

2004 0.85 Remuneration report 1989

2004 7.15 Corporate governance 1989

2004 3.53 Auditors' report 1989 0.70

2004 1.12 Advisors 1989 0.81

2004 1.02 Board of directors 1989 1.26

2004 1.72 Corporate social

responsibility 1989 2.10

2004 2.92 Historical record 1989 1.23

2004 1.36 Shareholders'

information 1989 1.23

2004 1.47 Annual general meeting 1989 1.58

2004 2.21 Financial calendar 1989 0.59

2004 0.76 Total (f,g) 1989 22.2

2004 36.8 (a.) Sections that were mandatory in 2004, but not in 1989, are shown in bold (the directors' report and audit report were mandatory in both years). (b.) For 1989 and 2004, N = 240 and 94, respectively. (c.) %r based on total sample for the year. (d.)% based on those companies with generic section. All % values between 0 and I are recorded as 1 to indicate the presence the presentational format in at least one company's generic section. (e.) Means based on those companies with generic section. (f.) The total for pictures, graphs, charts, and tables stated here refers to the number of companies that had these features in cu least ore of the 19 sections of disclosure examined. (g.) The total mean page counts refers to that for the 19 sections of disclosure examined. It is not comparable to the voluntary page count results recorded in Table 1 because it includes all regulatory nonfinancial accounts information and excludes pages that were dedicated to sections other than the 19 included above. Table 4. Use of Graphs by Top Listed U.K. Companies

Beattie and

Present Jones (1992b,

2004 Study Table 3) 1989

(N = 94) (N = 240) Graph Topic n % n % Any financial or 93 99 189 79

nonfinancial graph (a) At least one key financial 58 62 156 65

variable graph (b) Sales 31 33 91 38 Income 47 50 131 55 Earnings per share 42 45 127 53 Dividend per share 38 40 116 48 (a.) There is a small discrepancy between Tables 3 and 4 in the number of firms that included a graph in their 1989 annual reports: 185 companies versus 189 companies, respectively. Although information presented in Table 3 was collected as part of the current study, that in Table 4 is taken from Beattie and Jones (1992b). We were unable to resolve this discrepancy. (b.) Key financial variables are sales, income before taxes, earnings per share, and dividend per share. Table 5. Analysis of Graphs by Topic (Arranged in 19139 Order)

Beanie and Jones

Present Study (1992b, Table 3)

2004 (N = 94) 1989 (N = 240)

n % n % Panel A: Topics reported in Beattie and Jones (1992b)

Key financial graphs 158 24.4 438 30.7

Other income measures 40 6.2 26 1.8

and profitability

Segmented sales non-time 32 5.0 109 7.6