An annual report although could be consider as shorter version of 10k but the key difference lies in approach and intention of reporting, meaning with what point of view the document is prepared an annual report is persuasive in nature and persuade investors to invest with the corporation, printed on a glossy paper with attractive graphic and contains management spin, management could chose the level of detail to be provided and language it could be anything which is on management’s discretion, also a annual report contains letters of the CEO and chairman generally talking about the present performance and future of the company while on the other hand Publicly traded companies have a large roster of reporting and regulatory obligations to fulfill. Corporations must report to their shareholders, and also to financial regulatory authorities that collect data for the public record. Each publicly traded company must file an annual report, and also a report known as a 10-K. Although these have similarities, they also have key differences.
Purpose * An annual report is used to represent the state of the company to shareholders, and give them an insight into the company's activities in the past year. It's unofficial, and its purpose is mainly to communicate, so it serves something of a public relations function. A Form 10-K report is an official document that publicly traded companies must file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In contrast to the annual report, it is filed to fulfill a regulatory requirement for transparency. It cannot contain any of the management "spin" which is often a feature of the annual report.
Contents
* The annual report is an informal document, so the content will vary from company to company, what is most important to communicate to shareholders. Typically though, each annual report will include at least a balance sheet and a list of company