Researching Corporate Annual Reports: an Analysis of Perspectives Used

Corporate annual reports (CARs) are the subject of research emanating from different disciplines. A growing body of literature addresses their purpose, design, content and interpretation, as well as reasons for their changing content. This paper reviews examines (mainly post-1990) English-language, academic and practitioner literature analysing or commenting on CARs. The literature is examined to obtain insight into how different discipline perspectives view the annual report and to ascertain the issues addressed. Different viewpoints and findings are used to explain how a focus on design, voluntary disclosure and narrative in the annual report, may be detrimental to the annual report's traditional role as an accountability document. Whether a CAR is written to reduce effects unfavourable to the corporate image, or as a proactive document that seeks to advance the company's or management's objectives, marks the division between the pursuit of legitimacy explanations on the one hand, and political economy and marketing explanations on the other. While disclosure and readability studies suggest that annual reports do not accurately portray a corporation and its performance, complementary research within other perspectives shows that portrayals are influenced by additional elements. An arsenal of communication tools allows preparers to tell many stories, with a consequent diminution of its accountability role.