Annual report? Check! But … tell me, how far are you now with your Integrated Report?
So what’s an Integrated Report?
Excellent question. We’re happy to clarify it for you.
Reports are getting longer and more complex. It’s getting harder for you to keep track of everything and it’s getting harder and harder for your investors to find the right information between pages full of numbers, numbers and oh yeah, some more numbers. Yawn!
That is why, according to the International Integrated Reporting Council, it was time for an Integrated Report.
An Integrated Report is a type of annual report in which you demonstrate how every aspect of your company (your strategy, business model, activities, products, services, etc.) contributes to the creation of “value”.
It’s a broader form of reporting in which you demonstrate that it is not just about the numbers, but also about what you can do in an ethical and sustainable way. Again: you don’t have to write a massive epistle. Keep it:
- brief,
- strategic
- & relevant
6 valuable building blocks for your Integrated Report
According to the International Integrated Reporting Council, it is the intention that every organization (public or private, small or large, profit or non-profit) gives its own interpretation to the concept of “value”.
Time to gather with your colleagues and hold up a mirror to your company. Important: always keep the needs and interests of your stakeholders in mind.
The six building blocks for your Integrated Report:
- Financial
Under the financial capital you discuss the resources available to your organization. - Manufacturing
Everything to do with production-oriented equipment and tools falls under the pillar “manufacturing capital”. - Intellectual
The intellectual capital is about the capabilities, knowledge, skills and experience of your employees and managers at the level of your organization. - Human
Human capital is close to intellectual capital, but seen from the point of view of the individual (usually the employees). - Social & relations
The pillar “social & relationship” can concern the relationships within your organization as well as the relationships between your company and external stakeholders. - Natural
When it comes to “natural capital”, we are talking about the natural resources that contribute directly or indirectly to the prosperity of your business.
The purpose of your Integrated Report is to explain how your organization influences these six pillars and how you thereby add value in the short and, above all, in the long term.
Best practices and examples can be found here.
Why choose an Integrated Report?
The goal of Integrated Reporting is to inform potential investors in a clear way about the – as you can guess – value that your company will bring in the future.
Informing in a clear way is not only done based on figures, but through a combination of quantitative and qualitative information about your company.
Thanks to your Integrated Report, investors will be able to decide more easily and quickly whether they want to work with you and your company.
In addition, integrated reporting and thinking will soon become the norm in the business world.
Working on your value? We’d love to help you
So, hopefully it has become a lot clearer by now. It should, because tackling complex and – let’s be honest – rather dry matter happens to be one of our specialties. Just ask DEME, who were more than happy to leave the writing of their annual report to us. Or Tempo-Team, because we worked creatively with their figures.
So where can you go for an attractive Integrated Report with just about everything? To us, of course. Yihaa!
