This is Sid Cato’s 17th year of monitoring the world’s annuals, utilizing computer programs he conceived and directed creation of. For Chief Executive magazine, for the last 15 years Cato has selected the world’s 10 best and 10 worst reports.

He devoted Pg. 1 of his monthly—No. 189, since September 1983—Newsletter on Annual Reports to the IBM report. He had glowing comments concerning the letter to shareholders of CEO Louis V. Gerstner, Jr., among other features singled out. Its score, though, is one short of "world-class" status—at least 100 of a potential 135 points.

In his May issue, Cato likewise took potshots at the Reebok report, whose score is "a tiny 56 points," its "positive rating" a negative: -5.6%, 100% indicating a report that contains all three dozen elements Cato considers essential. He also took to task the report of Hawaii’s Pacific Century Financial. "How low can you go?" he asked, in noting its 27-point score, -13.9% positive/negative rating, a shareholder letter running over "an astronomical 14 pages." Worldwide average length of letters, by contrast, is three pages.