1.	Since the Securities and Exchange Commission a decade ago mandated that companies would be required to improve disclosure in the Management’s Discussion & Analysis of Operations (MD&A), how many would you guess have heeded that admonition:   10   100   1,000? Answer: Ten at most. PepsiCo, Mobil and Monsanto are among the few that can be said to have responded consistently to the SEC edict.
	2.	Most companies tend to innovate in their annual reports. True or false? Answer: False. While a select few break new ground, there’s little that’s new in the field of annual reports. Innovations, when they occur, usually are ill-chosen efforts by graphic artists to be creative. More typical is the Deere & Co. annual report, which paralleled the year-earlier version down the line, category by category. The year-to-year variation: a scant point, making it an also-ran again.
	3.	After an annual report is named world’s best—that is, No. 1—for three years, thus can’t be considered for the list of world’s best...after that, most don’t try any longer. True or false? Answer: True—and false. Knight-Ridder, after its annual report was cited as best of the decade, in essence fell off the radar screen. Its 1996 report (with 105 points), though, did qualify as "world-class." At the other end of the spectrum is the Ameritech report, world’s best (or tied for the honor) three straight years. It continues to make a Herculean effort regardless, its 1997 report every bit as good even though it’s out of the money this year. That’s sincerity.
	4.	Annual reports may be big in America, but Japan is hardly what you’d call a hotbed of annual report activity. True or false? Answer: Decidedly the latter. It has a thriving annual report industry, with companies like General Solutions working/serving the market well. So thriving is the annual report business there, we’ve okayed its distributing a Japanese-language version of our monthly newsletter. We of course continue to retain the copyright.
	5.	After a company attends Sid Cato’s annual report conference, it seldom sees the need for sending a staff member again. Not true? Answer: That’s an easy one: false. Each year, surprisingly, four dozen repeats sign up. They join the 30 or so first-timers to provide a balance between veterans and newcomers. Already, nearly 36 persons have enrolled (and paid!) for this fall’s conference, No. 11. And no refunds are allowed!