The Annual Report - Research Paper Example

Heading: The Annual Report The Annual Report Annual reports are significant especially for companies which have their shares listed in a stock exchange. Annual reports provide information about the performance of the company during a particular financial year. In addition to giving information about the company’s performance, annual reports also highlights the projections of the company for the coming year. The y also gives a general description of the company as well as the industry in which the company operates (Stittle, 2003).

Annual reports target a number of audiences who need the information for various reasons. The major audiences of the annual report are the current and the potential investors. Current investors include the shareholders of the company. On the other hand, potential investors are those individuals who may be willing to invest in the company. The sections of the annual report which are most relevant to investors are the profits that the company has made as well as its assets (Stittle, 2003).The other audiences who are likely to be interested in the annual report of the company are the suppliers.

They might be interested in knowing the performance of the company so that they can assess its creditworthiness. From the financial reports, they can know whether they can extend credit to the company or not. Therefore, the most relevant sections of the annual reports to the suppliers could be the assets that the company has as well as its sales and current credit (Stittle, 2003).FedEx approach to annual reports is different from the approach taken by Apple Inc. The main difference is that the former mostly addresses it performance during the financial year in question.

On the other hand, Apple Inc. addresses its projected business in the following financial year.ReferencesStittle, J. (2003). Annual reports: Delivering your corporate message to stakeholders. Burlington, VT: Gower.