Can they see what you're worth?

The Demonstrated benefit of adding strategic value

Many question what benefit accrues from effective articulation of strategy in Annual Reports. The Government's declared intent to require listed companies to produce a Strategic Report on an annual basis has increased the volume and intensity of that questioning. In the course of winding up our analysis of this 2010/11 reporting cycle the scale of possible benefit has become more starkly clear than ever before in the seven years of FutureValue analysis.

Quite simply, companies that articulate their strategic thinking and their capacity for strategic management on a continuous and consistent year-to-year basis outperform the FTSE350 Index and their sectors by some considerable margin.

Investors want to know your company's future potential. Are you telling them a story they'll buy?

Best practice in corporate reporting goes beyond ticking the regulatory boxes. It’s about communicating your vision of the future, the market context and your corporate capabilities. It helps make valuing your business a less risky, less volatile proposition. Get it right, and you’ll support investor confidence – and a robust share price.

FutureValue helps companies to add and communicate strategic value effectively in their corporate reporting.

Compared with your peers, how well are you demonstrating strategic leadership and the ability to deliver long-term competitive advantage? Can investors see your company’s true potential for value creation over the medium- and long-term? Can they appreciate its growth potential relative to competitors?

FutureValue will give you an authoritative, rigorous and independent evaluation of your reporting narratives. We use a tried and tested framework to profile them and compare them with exemplars, sector peers and your own performance year-on-year.

We’ll also help you to use this insight, drawing on our database of research findings to provide a range of knowledge-based services.

Can that make a difference to the share price? Take a look at this chart…

The difference it makes

The graph shows the performance of a notional, simple index of short-listed companies. We use it to tell clients how effectively they're telling their story - and where they need to improve.

For more information see: Strategic Value Index

How we can help you excel

We help companies and their advisers get the best value from their narrative reporting to investors and other key stakeholders.

What we offer

Research - We conduct consistent, in-depth examinations of annual report narratives against our strategic framework. This enables us to provide a detailed Strategic Value Profile and benchmark it against competitors and peers. Defined by accepted best practice standards, our methodology provides a rigorous, objective and robust basis for comparison within sectors and across our international index. Access options range from single profile purchase to unlimited library usage - more information.

Advisory services - We help companies to optimise the quality of strategic value added in their reporting. Before publication we critique annual report narratives, highlighting opportunities to add strategic value. After publication we run benchmark reviews against peers, competitors and exemplars to develop a gap analysis and enhancement plan. Other bespoke services help companies to develop and enhance the strategic value that their reporting adds.

A more strategic approach

We help clients to develop reporting content that reveals their strategic value and their comparable potential for growth and outperformance. This is a challenge that goes way beyond regulatory compliance and good design.

It requires a rare blend of research and experience. Strategy is at the core of our research, so we have to be experienced strategists. To use our findings astutely, we are expert communicators – fluent in corporate and investor relations, as well as understanding the contribution of design. And of course, we also make sure our clients keep their bearings in an ever-shifting regulatory environment.

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