1.	Try as they might, no corporation anywhere in the world has ever produced what you could call "a perfect annual report." True or false? Answer: False. Ameritech for the third consecutive year has as perfect a report as one could ask for, its score a complete 135 points, accompanied by a 100% positive rating, indicating its inclusion of all three dozen elements we say reflect on a report’s positive or negative nature.
	2.	No industrial company is headed by a woman. And were that to exist—a woman being CEO of an industrial company—she probably wouldn’t do well with her annual report. True or false? Answer: False on both counts. Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based Brady Corp. has a woman at its helm, and Katherine M. Hudson, president, impresses with her 1998 report. It didn’t achieve "world-class" status (by scoring at least 100 points), but it has a host of commendable features, not least of which is honesty.
	3.	Microsoft is as big as they come in computer software. So one could expect it would do equally well with its annual report. True or false? Answer: One might assume it would do well; if so, they’d be wrong. Its 1998 report, tinier than most, has gatefolds opening onto gatefolds, minimum financial disclosure, no theme—and nary a reference we could find concerning all its antitrust doings in our nation’s capital. My advice: It should stick to Windows.
	4.	Most reports today feature a theme, and it would be hard to pick the best of the bunch. True or false? Answer: False on both counts. Among early-1998s, only 61% feature a theme. Of those, fewer than four of five are strongly, forcefully supported. A year ago, seven of 10 featured a theme. Fewer than three of four knew enough to support it well. While a lot of intriguing themes exist among early 1998s, one clearly is superb: Harcourt General’s "Where is the little red schoolhouse today?" Answer: "It’s everywhere." Harcourt is big in the "high-growth education markets." Meaning, education wherever.
	5.	Once you’ve taken a company to task, it shapes up—that is, learns its lesson. True or false Answer: False. Take Century Communications Corp. Please. As far back as its 1992 report, this company has been unable to confront reality. Its 1997 report was named world’s worst, and its 1998 edition appears headed for the same dire fate. Century well may be the only company with a "stockholders’ deficiency," ever- widening.