Three big takeaways from our event:
1. If you want to change something big, get everyone on board
We were joined on the day by Andrew McGeary, Investor Relations Manager at FTSE 100 house builder Taylor Wimpey. He offered a number of insights that shed light on how Taylor Wimpey was able to radically transform and extend their own business model description over the past two years.
Notably, he explained that starting earlier in the year meant that there was time to properly circulate the draft and take the temperature of various stakeholders. This resulted in something that everyone could get behind, and which should stand the test of time.
2. New content is important, but so is leaving some things out
Anyone familiar with the reporting world knows that there’s definitely an established way of doing a business model description. The typical reporter will offer some sort of circular diagram with very little text on it, perhaps complemented by a very brief overview of inputs and outputs, often with some sort of discussion about stakeholders, and some arrows conveying a sense of direction.
We don’t think any of this adds very much value for readers, and almost none for investors, who will be chiefly interested in two things – what you do and how you make money. Of course, there’s always more that can be added, but proper discussion of these two things is the best starting point. No graphic required!
3. Strategy reporting is trickier than ever in 2025
We live in extraordinarily uncertain times, and have done for the better part of a decade. In this context, ‘UK plc’ has become extremely reluctant to talk about the future in general, and strategy in particular, in their reports.
To address this phenomenon, we’re proposing a new way of doing strategy reporting, where sources of uncertainty and potential and actual challenges, along with changes mid-course, are baked in to discussion of strategy. Fairness and balance has never been more important.
Our next webinar is set for June 24th, covering how you can maximise impact and efficiency in your sustainability reporting in the era of CSRD. Sign up here.
