Emma is an avid football fan and a supporter of Arsenal football club. Every morning, afternoon and night he gets alerts via a number of sports news outlets informing him of activities about his club and sports in general. He is so vast in sports, he hardly loses any argument. However, he is a Banker and also has a portfolio of investments which includes shares that he manages by himself. Unlike his favorite club and love for sports he doesn’t keep tabs on his investments as much as he does with the former. It was so bad he lost most of his investments including shares in the bank that he worked in which eventually went under.

As a shareholder of a company you are entitled to receive a number of information from your company periodically and at specified periods during the financial year. These information come via various medium such as reports, bulletins, earnings guidance, newsletters, public announcements etc. Let’s take a lot at the critical ones.

Annual Reports: At the end of a financial year every company by law is required to prepare its financial statements and have it audited. After it is audited and approved by the board of directors it is packaged in an annual report and distributed to shareholders at the Annual General Meeting. Copies of the annual report can also be downloaded online. An annual report contains amongst others the company’s result for year, the chairman’s statement, auditor’s opinion, dividends declare amongst others. It is one of the most important documents issued by a company

Interim Financial Reports: Interim Financial reports are released quarterly all through the financial year and contain financial statements of the company for the period under review. Unlike the annual report, interim reports do not need to be audited and do not contain as much information as annual reports. However, they do reveal the financial state of the company which you can then use to make sound investment decisions.

Corporate Announcements: During the year companies also take a lot of non-financial decisions which can have impact on their future. For example, they can announce a change of directors, chairmen or CEO. It could also be that they have relocated office or change the memorandum and articles of association of the company. It also includes dividend announcements, financial forecast, public offers etc. Corporate announcement are a very crucial part of a company’s financial cycle and should be taken seriously by every investor.

Corporate Deals: Deals such as mergers and acquisitions, takeovers, spin offs, debt offerings etc. are an important event in any company’s financial year. Before they are concluded they are often announced in the media or through appropriate channels for shareholders and other stakeholders to digest and offer opinions. It is so important to follow these events as every move the company makes can affect the financial state of the company either positively or negatively which off course affects your investments. Deals are typically announced in the pages of newspapers, business news websites, on TV, social media etc.
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