1.	Key to producing an award-winning annual report is to buddy up to the guy who picks them. True or false? Answer: False—very much so. Friendship has nothing to do with handing out awards. It’s based solely on the score a report warrants—that and nothing else. Friends have made the list of world’s worst reports more than once. Keys to a winning report are (1) desire and (2) adherence to my copyrighted (since 1984) criteria.
	2.	The Securities and Exchange Commission promised to expedite companies’ filings if they would strive for a "plain English" approach to the annual report, among other items. True or false? Answer: True. But has it caught on (other than with a Texaco or, especially, a Baltimore Gas and Electric)? Not so's one could notice. I put the SEC ploy in the same category as its 1987 vow to ride herd on companies to make sure their MD&A (Management’s Discussion & Analysis of Operations, required of U.S. corporations, at least) was more meaningful. Did it work? No. Did the SEC come down hard on the malefactors? Not to my knowledge.
	3.	Quaker Oats' chief executive is new to the job. New bosses usually start off telling the truth in at least their initial letter to shareholders. True or false? Answer: Some CEOs never face up to the dire realities. But I agree the likelihood of truth-telling is greatest with a new boss, who’s not responsible for the problems he inherits. Trouble didn’t fester on his watch. Let’s hope Quaker Oats' new corporate chieftain continues to do so well as in the company’s 1997 report: He admitted to a $6.80-a-share loss in the letter’s fourth paragraph. In the world of corporate-speak, that counts as revolutionary.
	4.	Unless a company’s annual report scores well in your competition, it won’t be praised by you. True or false? Answer: False. Take Yellow Corp. While a year earlier, its rating was decidedly negative (a -25.0% positive/negative—very much the latter), this year’s book, with a flat (0.0%) rating, is hailed in the July issue of Sid Cato's Annual Report Newsletter (SCARN) for its "highly readable book; design not in a vacuum, not just for design’s sake." Translated: I loved it! Design is truly innovative. But appropriate. Visit Yellow Corp. on the web: www.yellowcorp.com
	5.	When a company with a new CEO does a Q&A with him, you can bet the store it’ll be laden with lobs—that is, with soft pitches. True or false? Answer: While you'd usually be right, I suspect, in the case of Unisys and its new chief, that would be false. Sample questions (nary a lob among 'em): "Why are you the right man for the job?" And, "Why do you claim 1997 was a successful year when you reported a net loss?"