The author and former corporate officer likewise (on Pg. 6) took to task Potlatch, along with the Mead Show, for "emphasizing graphic appearance of the key corporate communiqué over content."

Cato questioned "not only some of the ambiguous wording" in the Potlatch survey (example: Yankelovich found that 7% of CEOs take responsibility for the writing; Cato’s 14th annual Producer Poll shows half the CEOs have a hand in writing their letter to shareholders), but some of its findings.

One such: Yankelovich says "only 10% of companies go outside the organization to have their report written." Cato’s findings: 86% do—"nearly nine times more."

He criticized Potlatch for its emphasis on design of the document. Cato said "none of the reports it cited made our list of 10 best worldwide. One of ours to make the list of 10 worst—the Reebok report—was among the Potlatch honorees."

Cato’s 16th annual choices for best and worst reports appeared in the November 1999 issue of Chief Executive.