FY2025 Annual Report review: Raising the bar in financial communication
As annual report season draws to a close and shareholders’ thoughts turn to AGMs, we have identified some trends from the 2025 financial year’s reports.
Companies are embracing a broader audience for this key shareholder update, through integrated storytelling and digital innovation. They are also preparing for the step change in mandatory climate-related disclosures from this financial year.
What can organisations learn from the standout approaches of FY25?
- Integrated storytelling: Companies like Aurizon and Stanmore Resources have moved well beyond compliance, weaving operational, sustainability, and financial narratives into a cohesive story.
- Stakeholder-centric language: Brisbane Airport Corporation’s Centenary report is a masterclass in accessible, forward-looking communication, using plain English, infographics, and customer-centric case studies to engage a broad audience – from investors to local communities.
Emerging trends in reporting
- ESG and climate disclosure: Last year’s reports demonstrate a step-change in climate-related and non-financial reporting in readiness for mandatory climate change reporting from FY26. Brisbane Airport and Credit Corp PNG both outline their readiness for new AASB S2 climate disclosure standards, and detailed scenario analysis and board-level ESG governance is now standard practice.
- Digital presentation: Interactive digital reports, infographics, and video content are increasingly used to make complex data more digestible and to reach stakeholders wherever they are.
Shifts in tone, transparency, and engagement
- Greater transparency: There’s a clear trend towards increasingly candid discussion of risks, challenges, and even underperformance.
- Inclusive stakeholder engagement: Reports now routinely feature customer, employee, and community stories, reflecting a broader definition of value creation and a commitment to social licence.
Queensland companies are setting the pace in transparent, stakeholder-driven, and digital-first reporting, and looking ahead, 2026 promises to raise the bar even higher.
To find out more about Rowland’s specialist investor relations and reporting expertise, email Alasdair Jeffrey at Alasdair.Jeffrey@rowland.com.au or click here for further information.