Annual Report
Reports are among an organization’s most important communication tools. They appear in a variety of forms, carry out a number of functions, and ensure the efficient transfer of data (Hynes, 2011). The format of a report can be informal or formal. The more important the information is the more formal it is. One example of a report is the annual report. Annual reports are formal financial statements that are published yearly and sent to company stockholders and various other interested parties (Stittle, 2004). In this report will be a discussion of two organizations, AT&T and Verizon on their format and approach on their annual report.
Differences in approach of each organization From reading AT&T and Verizon annual report both companies has a positive approach about their organization for 2012. Their order of information was a direct order by pointing their achievements first. They both started out with their financial highlights showing how well they have done from 2011 to 2012. With Verizon and AT&T report they used bullet points pinpointing there success of the year. Here’s an example of Verizon’s highlights,
• $15.3 billion in free cash flow (non-GAAP) • 4.5% growth in operating revenues
• 13.2% total shareholder return • 3.0% annual dividend increase
Here’s an example of AT&T highlights,
• We increased our quarterly dividend for the 29th consecutive year and paid out more than $10 billion in regular quarterly dividends — the most in our history.
• We also repurchased 6 percent of our total shares outstanding. Combining dividends and share buybacks, our company returned $23 billion to shareowners in 2012, the highest total in our history.
With using bullet points, graphs and numbers it made it easier to understand and interpret the data. They presented the data clearly by showing where they made their