Going public has its benefits, but it also carries responsibilities, such as providing investors with information about the company’s activities and financial performance. To fulfill that particular obligation, Lassonde’s public relations, finance, and legal affairs teams were enlisted to produce quarterly and annual reports.

At first, Lassonde found this demanding practice quite burdensome. It monopolized employees from various departments for extended periods of time; it required careful checking and rechecking of information; and it was fairly expensive. But the members of the senior management team and the sales force, among others, quickly came to see the upside of the process. The care and effort that went into producing an annual report reflected well on the company and made the document a perfect calling card.

In addition to the charts and tables attesting to Lassonde’s financial health, the annual report offered a panoramic view of the company’s activities. Enhanced by a wide selection of photos, the report allowed investors, current and prospective partners, and suppliers to get acquainted with Lassonde’s corporate personality through messages from senior management as well as articles about special projects, strategic investments, contributions and sponsorships, employee programs and so on.

Lassonde published its last annual report in 2005. The current trend among businesses is to publish simple management reports rather than annual reports full of pictures and stories – a development not hailed by everyone. In a column written for the bi-monthly business newspaper Les Affaires in 2007, Bernard Moony, for one, expressed dismay at the waning of the annual report. But with the explosion of digital communications, it is not surprising that new communication vehicles for keeping investors and partners informed are taking precedence.

Next column: Why not give it a try?…