Quarterly Report Template
- Written by Andrew Morris
- Published on
Quarterly reporting is one of the most important, yet overlooked pieces of information that New Zealand companies should be preparing for their shareholders. This is the best way to communicate the progress and challenges your company experiences as it grows, yet many private New Zealand companies struggle to succinctly communicate this information on a regular basis, or neglect this altogether.
Through our experience of providing shareholder communications services to multiple companies that we've raised capital for, we have put together a Quarterly Report Template designed for private New Zealand companies, which can be downloaded through the link below.
We've also provided some guidance on common misconceptions around quarterly reporting.
We've found that while companies are quick to highlight their wins, they can also be just as quick to glance over the bad news. What is important to remember is that shareholders are not blind, and will be able to tell when something doesn't look right. Investors prefer direct and honest language. Highlighting the challenges a business faces is often the most appreciated aspect of a quarterly report. Being able to first identify what challenges the business faces, and also comment on what measures are being taken to solve the issues, is essential to building a robust and informative report.
Companies often complain about the extra workload from having to draft quarterly reports. In reality, a company only needs to create a quality quarterly report once, that covers all of the necessary aspects. Once the format is in place, it is often a case of simply updating figures and highlighting any other developments since the last quarterly report. This works well if you identify the key drivers of the business upfront, and update shareholders on these drivers and how the overall business is performing on a regular basis.
While your shareholders aren't looking to trawl through your financial information with a fine tooth comb, they certainly aren't interested in reading through multiple pages of text talking about your day to day life. Finding a balance between providing the most important financial metrics and commentary around material aspects of the business is the key to developing a solid quarterly report. Financial information should be centred around core metrics and KPIs, while the wider commentary should focus on key aspects such as business development, hiring, and the product/service pipeline.
You can download and fill in the template to create your own draft quarterly report by entering your email address below. We will send you a link to download the document.
