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KALAMAZOO, May 1, 2001.—When the summary report made its debut with the 1987 crop, annual report monitor Sid Cato quoted author Thornton L. O'glove as saying it presented "the potential for massive manipulation of facts." Thirteen years later, Cato said he sees a similar potential in the online annual report.
In the May issue of his self-named Newsletter on Annual Reports, No. 213, Cato finds fault with annuals on the Internet. For one thing, he writes, the online annual too often tends to emphasize "style over substance." Cato says the Internet "is ideally suited for presentation of a letter from the boss that's long on rhetoric but short on specifics. It's a haven for game-players." He said the "Internet is the made-in-heaven hiding place for the long-on-turns-of-phrase corporate chieftain who's short on meatiness." He cited AT&T and Walt Disney, whose online annuals he found "leave much to be desired." By contrast, he gave high marks to Brady Corp. and Tellabs—the latter, "as good as they get." |