Taxman urges Scots to simplify reports

Scottish companies are being urged to make their annual reports more accessible to ordinary investors by Scotland’s most senior taxman.

Owen Clarke, chair of the judging of the 1995 Annual Report Prize run by Scottish Business Insider magazine, says Scottish companies’ annual reports must be accessible for an average reader as well as the financial analyst.

Tayburn McIlroy Coates won the overall prize in the contest. Its report for Highland Distilleries was one of six entries it had shortlisted in the top 20.

Judges praised the report as “uncomplicated and beautifully executed”, with “stunning photography” by Robert Pogson. It is the consultancy’s seventh win in the awards in nine years.

Lackie Newton’s report for Scottish Nuclear won a specially created award as the company, facing privatisation, fell between the public and private sector categories. The report features illustrations by Grundy & Northedge and photography by Sandy Porter.

In the voluntary sector category, Shaw Marketing and Design’s annual report for The Wise Group triumphed. The award for a report for a non-Scottish client went to Red Square for the Ford Credit Europe report.