Kickstarting your annual report and accounts 2026…. The finale
Bringing it all together with design
Welcome to the final article in our Kickstarting your Annual Report and Accounts 2026 series.
In part one, we helped you set the foundations for your report. We talked about defining your purpose, assembling your team, and building realistic timelines. In part two, we shifted focus to shaping your narrative by using templates properly, updating corporate messages, finding narrative threads, and capturing governance themes with confidence. Our finale will bring everything together.
This instalment is all about turning your work into a polished and professional Annual Report and Accounts (ARA) that engages readers and stands up to scrutiny.
Once your story is clear and your content is drafted, one crucial phase remains...the design.
Round Governance Services have years of experience helping businesses like yours with their ARA documents. We remove pressure on internal teams by project managing the process, drafting content, ensuring all disclosures are captured and understanding what good design looks like. Find out more.
Step 1: Making design work for you
You may have the strongest narrative and the most accurate disclosures in the world, but if your ARA is visually confusing or poorly structured, your message will get lost.
A clear, creative display of information dramatically improves a reader's ability to engage with key messages and absorb details.
Sometimes people get confused and think design is just decoration, but it's not; it's communication.
A well-designed report will help your audience:
Understand complex governance and sustainability information quickly
Navigate between narrative and financial sections effortlessly
Identify your key messages without searching for them
Feel confident in the professionalism of your organisation
Kerry's Advice:
"Think carefully about how your content will be consumed. Analysts want fast access to key numbers. Employees want clarity. Board members want coherence. Design is how you help every audience get what they need."
A few design decisions that make a big difference
Here are the kinds of questions we encourage clients to consider during the design and layout stage:
Do your graphics and charts genuinely support understanding, or are they decorative?
Are callouts, headers, and summaries consistent across the report?
Do the Chair and CEO statements visually stand out in the right way?
Are your tables accessible, easy to read, and reflective of the surrounding content?
Have you accounted for formatting requirements such as capitalisation, hyphens, and Financial Reporting Format Regulations?
Does your design enhance, not overshadow, your governance content?
Round recommends: Don't force every message into long paragraphs. Use infographics, pullouts, case studies, and tables to help readers digest information quickly.
But what if design isn't your strong point?
Kerry's Advice: "If formatting decisions, layout inconsistencies, or hyphen-versus-no-hyphen debates are eating your time, that's a sign to bring in support. You should focus on accuracy and governance, not pixels."
Step 2: Benchmark what 'good' looks like
Our Round Recognition Awards highlight ARAs that stand out from the crowd.
In the past, we've celebrated work from companies like:
Lloyds Banking Group
Monzo
United Utilities
A well-designed report will demonstrate how organisations can translate governance themes into narratives that feel both human and strategic.
Common threads in winning reports include:
Consistent narrative and delivery
Words that are strengthened through design using white space, infographics and box-outs
Strong visual structure that guides the reader
Don't copy but do learn from them. They show what good looks like, and more importantly, they show what effective governance storytelling feels like.
RGS tip: Set aside an hour to review two or three ARAs from your peers. Identify what engages you and what doesn't. Then mirror the strengths, not the style.
Step 3: Refine, review, and prepare for sign-off
Once your content and design are aligned, it's time for quality control. It's the essential step that ensures your ARA is accurate, consistent, verified, and ready for Board approval.
This is where your earlier work (mapping owners, understanding timelines, creating buffers) comes into its own.
Your final review stages should include:
1. Content verification
Cross-checking every statement against underlying evidence, audit trails and governance records.
2. Consistency checks
Ensuring tone, terminology, formatting, dates, and data match across all sections.
3. Compliance review
Confirming that governance disclosures meet all requirements, including:
UK Corporate Governance Code 2024
UK SRS 2 and climate-related reporting
Wates Principles (for large private companies)
Workforce engagement disclosures
Strategic report and Directors' Report requirements
4. Board and Audit Committee readiness
You must make sure all key individuals are pre-briefed, understand the narrative, and have time blocked to review.
The most stressful ARA reviews are those in which content is still being rewritten during sign-off.
Planning early, shaping messages with clarity, and designing strategically ensures that by this point, you're refining rather than firefighting.
Step 4: Know when to ask for help
The smartest decision you can make is knowing when to bring in expertise.
Creating an ARA requires:
Strategic narrative development
Regulatory knowledge
Cross-functional alignment
Project management
Technical accuracy
And yes—a surprising amount of design knowledge
If your internal teams are stretched, inexperienced, or simply too close to the content to see it clearly, outside support can transform the process.
Round Governance have worked with organisations ranging from PZ Cussons to Watches of Switzerland Group plc and Ocado Group plc, delivering ARAs that are compliant and engaging.
Partnering with specialists is a sign that you value governance done well.
How RGS can help
We provide end-to-end support, including:
Narrative development
Governance and compliance reviews
Design guidance and content flow mapping
Project management
Verification and sign-off coordination
If you'd like to make reporting season smoother and your ARA stronger, we'd love to talk. Get in touch to arrange a free discovery call.