Do Contents of an Annual Report Discussion & Reply to edwards post!

 Contents of an Annual Report Discussion-

Discuss the following scenario: Staff  members from the marketing department of your firm are doing a splendid  job selling products to customers. Many of the customers are so pleased  that they are also buying shares in the company’s stock, which means  that they receive a copy of the firm’s annual report. Unfortunately,  questions sometimes arise that the marketing staff members are woefully  inadequate at answering. Technical questions about the firm’s financial  condition and performance are referred to the chief financial officer,  but the director of marketing has asked you to write a memo in which you  explain the key elements in an annual report so that marketing  representatives are better prepared to respond to questions of a more  general nature.

For your initial post, write a clear,  concise memo (no more than 250 words) that describes the contents of an  annual report so marketing personnel can understand the basic  requirements of an annual report. Reference this week’s readings and  lecture to help organize and explain your thoughts. In addition, answer  the following questions:

• Do you think all marketing staff members should be equipped to speak with the public about the firm’s financial matters?
• What are some of the benefits of improving employee financial literacy?

Edwards Discussion-Reply-

An annual report includes a balance sheet which includes a company’s  assets, liabilities, the value of their company, what the company has  spent and how much income they have received over a certain time frame.  More importantly, the annual report includes a description of the  company and what other companies or ventures that the organization is  affiliated with. The annual report can come from upper level management,  the chief financial and executive officer along with the list of board  member. “Companies will usually include some information about major  changes in the previous year or planned changes for the next year, but  in a less formal way and more for the purposes of promoting their  successes” (Epstein, 2014, p. 1.3). This can allow shareholders to know  if a company plans on creating another product or service and other  factors that affect company success such as the global economic  conditions.

Companies that sell stocks to the public have to inform them of their  finances every quarter and when the public requests them. The role of  the marketing department within an organization is to promote business  which includes reaching out to customers who would be considered  shareholders or investors. Since it would be difficult for the public to  get hold of the chief financial or executive officer, the marketing  team should be equipped to answer any questions or concerns that  shareholders may have. One benefit for improving employee financial  literacy is increased production because employees will be less stressed  about their finances. Another benefit for improving employee financial  knowledge is more profits, because they will be eager to buy stocks  within the company.

Epstein, L. (2014). Financial decision making: An introduction to financial reports. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/books/AUOMM622.14.1/sections/sec1.3?search=equity#w10704 (Links to an external site.)

 Crooks, R. (2014, January). 12 lessons from Warby Parker's annual report (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/rosscrooks/2014/01/30/12-lessons-from-warby-parkers-annual-report/