Reporting Nonfinancials

KAEVAN GAZDAR is responsible for Reporting at HypoVereinsbank, one of Germany´s largest banks. Its Annual Reports received the prestigious manager magazin awards six times in succession; its Sustainability Reports have also won national and international prizes. Kaevan is co-author of books on reporting and corporate citizenship. He is a member of the international jury of the Annual Report on Annual Reports, a global reporting ranking, and also belongs to the jury of the Good Company ranking. Apart from this, he has written for magazines like Investor Relations and Ethical Corporation and lectured widely in Europe.

“Reporting Nonfinancials is that rare thing - a book that lives up to the testimonials in its front sleeve…thought-provoking." (Ethical Corporation, March 2007)

• Foreword. Acknowledgments.Introduction: Goodwill and Blue Skies?Getting a Grip on Nonfinancials.Closing the gap between book value and market cap.Step 1: Classifying nonfinancials.Step 2: Adjusting to regional priorities.Step 3: From consciousness to action.PART I: THE WHY.1 True and Fair View?The Glaring Deficiencies of Financial Reporting.The old economy’s reporting paradigm.Change reporting, not accounting.Getting form to follow function.Nonfinancials: The overheads of the 21st century.2 Open Sesame?Nonfinancial Reporting between Pressures, Paradoxes and Potentials.Pressures: Regulators, investors and public opinion.Paradoxes: A singular lack of clarity and concreteness.Potentials: Professionalisation on the march.PART II: THE WHAT.3 Competitive Value.Brands, Customers and Markets.A. BRANDS: ENGINES OF GROWTH AND REPUTATION.Calculating brand value.......and reporting on brand equity.Rescuing the brand: Reporting as a part of crisis management.Strategies for product.......and corporate brands.B. CUSTOMERS: THE KEY ENTREPRENEURIAL ASSET.Customer orientation: Beyond lip worship.Customer loyalty: Beyond retention.Customer satisfaction: Early warning system or success barometer?Customer commitment: Showing true grit.C. MARKETS: TARGETING NICHES, SEGMENTS AND SECTORS.Marketing metrics: From market share.......to sectorial insights.Marketing strategy: Between brand positioning.......and financial results.SUMMARY OF COMPETITIVE VALUE.4 Management Value.Strategy, Governance and Outlook.A. STRATEGY: AN AMALGAM OF PROCESSES AND VISIONS.Systematising strategy: Concentrating on targets.......and on market trends.Strategy as a structured process.......and as an exercise in restructuring.Strategy derived from the vision of a leader.......and his insights on markets – or hers.B. GOVERNANCE: SHADES OF TRANSPARENCY.Regional pressures and structural differences.Are governance premiums sufficient incentives for coherent reporting?Reporting approaches: Between formalism.......and hardcore information.C. OUTLOOK: FORECASTING AS THE ULTIMATE CHALLENGE.Between expectations and regulations.Inputs and outputs: Systematising forecasting.Uncorking the champagne – or biting the bullet.Paths to growth and glory: Unorthodox approaches.SUMMARY OF MANAGEMENT VALUE.5 Human Resources Value.Productivity, Motivation and Potential.Can people be capitalised? Ambitious concepts, modest results.Leveraging human resources: Pinpointing indicators.......and reporting coherently.A. PRODUCTIVITY: PROMOTING EFFECTIVITY AND EFFICIENCY.Ways to productivity: The cultural factor.Factual approaches: From basic documentation.......to a strategic overview.Focusing on the essentials.B. MOTIVATION: WILD CARD FOR EXCELLENCE?Corporate culture: The backbone of motivation.Mobilising employees: Between satisfaction.......and engagement.C. POTENTIAL: PROTECTING PROPERTY AND HARNESSING TALENTS.Exploiting intellectual property: Defensive and offensive approaches.Managing diversity: Qualitative solutions.......and quantitative evidence.Training: An investment in superior performance.SUMMARY OF HR VALUE.6 Ethical Value.CSR, Sustainability and Stakeholder Dialogue.Good ethics=superior financial performance?Evolution of reporting: From accounting to assurance.A. CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: CHARITY OR POLICY?Reporting trends: Quantity and quality on the rise?Concretising commitment.......and concentrating on core business.An emphasis on issues.......and on mission.B. SUSTAINABILITY: BETWEEN TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE AND REALISTIC TARGETS.Reporting between minimalist requirements and maximalist demands.From triple bottom line.......to challenges and dilemmas.Setting targets and executing strategies.C. STAKEHOLDER DIALOGUE: CONFLICT-SHOOTING OR WIN–WIN STRATEGY?Curing corporate myopia.Systematising processes, developing indicators.Addressing specific issues.......and systematising consultation.Ethical value: A must or a sham?SUMMARY OF ETHICAL VALUE.PART III: THE HOW.7 Says Who?Addressing Stakeholders and Facing Issues.Low standards of accountability.......and cultural proclivities.Focusing on audiences: Communities, employees.......the financial community....and NGOs.Focusing on specific issues.......and tackling general concerns.Dialogue as an ongoing process.Dialogue perspectives: From evasiveness to civic sense.8 New Wine in New Bottles?Strategy, Structure and Style.Strategy: From fundamental questions to an integrated approach.Structure: The road to clarity and materiality.Style: From story-telling to substance.Coherence, brevity, accountability.Bibliography.Index.