The need to improve enterprises’ annual reporting in the context of its users’ characteristics. Evidence from Poland

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to present the results of research among Polish annual report users on their information needs regarding improving the financial and non-financial information in annual reports. Methodology/approach: The study was conducted using two research techniques. The first one is an online survey addressed to respondents of an external database; the second one is individual inter-views. The 694 responses were analyzed to find a relationship between the responses and the characteris-tics of the respondents, such as gender, age, or education. The survey was conducted among people se-lected randomly who had experience in professions such as tax advisor, accountant, chartered accountant, financial analyst, financial advisor, investor, controller, management accounting specialist, internal auditor, and manager. Findings: The data analysis showed the legitimacy of the actions taken to improve the ap-proach to both the scope and structure of annual reports in the context of their users’ needs. However, like any empirical study, the results of this study should be interpreted with caution. While the research is an attempt to fill the research gap in the area under study, it is also relevant to practice. Originality/value: The results can contribute to a better understanding of the needs of users of business information, and thus, the opportunity to meet them.