Worst annuals: No longer the oil companies, ad agencies "You know, a good chief executive officer can produce a bad annual report." Cato disagrees. Years ago, I was convinced the very worst annuals were turned out either by (1) oil companies or (2) advertising agencies. The latter hasn't improved a whit; its product indicates clearly that producing an annual report isn't a job for wannabees, for amateurs. Advertising agencies do what they do quite well, thank you. That is: produce ads, radio or TV commercials. It's my experience that they don't have a clue as to what a good annual report to shareholders should contain. As witness the 1999 True North report, its score a meager 75 points (of a possible 135) against our copyrighted criteria. Its idea of being with-in: textual references to "organic growth" and "multicultural marketing." And the oil/petroleum companies long since disproved my working hypothesis – that they produced awful annuals. Led by Chevron, and, to a lesser degree, Phillips Petroleum. Joined, now, by Conoco, and, especially, Devon Energy, they've become among the best, year after year. So who's the worst? Which industry can be counted on to trip over its own feet? That'saeasyone, as Bette Midler (playing Janis Joplin) used to say, all the words slurred into one: the telecoms. Telecommunication companies – with the lone exception of Ameritech, whose true colors became evident on departure of George Stenitzer, one of the brightest lights in the business, and its acquisition by Texas-headquartered SBC Communications – have an unenviable record in our competition, now in its 17th year. Specifically, in no particular order: Bell Atlantic – No. 3 worst with its '91 report, sixth worst a year later NYNEX – fourth worst with its 1990 report BellSouth – didn't make the list of world's worst, though its summary report has come in for its share of criticism US West and Pacific Telesis likewise were taken to task more than once, though their reports were never so egregious as to warrant listing among the world's worst. Awful, if not terrible. What's more, the current, '99 SBC report easily could have been named to the current list of world's worst, it being a lackluster, without pride, one-color job that scored 41 points, accompanied by a negative (that is, minus) Cato Positive Index of 41.7%. A –41.7%, making it one of the year's poorest – nay, most despicable. Texas-based SBC, with its snake-shooting chief executive officer, and its governor deserve each other. You may quote me.

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