Almost nine out of ten investors feel annual reports are becoming more useful as a result of initiatives designed to encourage disclosure, according to a survey of 50 pan-European professional investors.

The research, conducted by reporting agency SAS and Thomson Reuters to examine attitudes and preferences towards corporate reporting and websites, found that the usefulness of annual reports have increased significantly since 2008.

However, while 52% see the role of the report as a provider of valuable insight to help assess the future potential of the business, only 50% of investors felt it provides an interesting insight into a company’s investment proposition. And only 12 % see the writing in annual reports as being both insightful and objective.

But professional investors still read them: 97% read the financials; 78%, the operational review; and more than two-thirds, the chairman and CEO statements.

“What we can say is that corporate reporting is alive and well used,” said Adrian Parker, client partner at SAS. “Institutional investors still refer to annual reports regularly and, although they like some of what of they see, there continues to be notable gaps and opportunities for improvement, particularly around the quality and extent of the information presented."

The findings also suggest that investing online makes sense. Some 90% of respondents use the website frequently to support investment decisions – up by a third from 2008 – and 80% of investors use webcasts. The most useful ongoing source of company information was deemed to be the online annual report – which scored higher than the actual IR website.

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