INTHEBLACK September 2021 - Magazine - Page 54
F E AT U R E
// C O R P O R AT E R E P O R T I N G
Above: A virtual
representation of
telecom provider
T-Mobile’s expansive
5G network coverage
in the US.
Top right: MEET VR and
Italy’s Rai Cinema have
recently collaborated to
make a short film using
VR technology, able to
be viewed exclusively
through the use of
augmented reality
equipment.
54 ITB September 2021
This approach is simple, low-cost and easy to
implement, with users able to access additional
content without leaving the physical report.
The second level involves creating a virtual “front
end” for a report using VR or 360-degree panoramas.
This is a more engaging way to explore reports and
works especially well when focused on a specific
theme. However, when it comes to an annual report,
this approach only works for the digital version, which
needs to be supplemented by a PDF or hard copy.
The third level involves a fully virtual report
environment, which users enter to interact with a
mixture of video, photographic and textual content.
Rather than replacing the traditional annual report, the
aim of the virtual report is often to provide an engaging
summary, with links back to the full annual report.
The UK FRC has proposed a possible fourth level,
where VR and AR could be used to enhance the user’s
understanding of the annual report.
“Annual reports are most powerful not when they
simply tell the story of a single year, but when they tell
how a company evolves and changes,” the report says.
“Investors often highlight the need for comparative
information over several years to help predict the
company’s future.”
AR and VR technology could present information
about long-term performance in a more informative
way than static graphs or charts. For example, it could
be used to create business modelling that evolves and
changes as the user moves across the reporting timeline,
or 3D graphs and charts that create insight into the
company’s performance.
The UK FRC outlines several areas for future
development and improvement for using AR and
VR in reporting.
Event-based reporting includes scheduled events
such as annual or interim results, annual general
meetings or shareholder meetings. As a result of
the pandemic, videoconferencing has become a
very common way to conduct these meetings, and
this fits well with the use of AR and VR.
Insight reporting covers examination of a company’s
operations, business model and products through
meetings with management and site visits. AR and
VR offer an alternative to physical meetings and have
already been used by companies to provide product
and operational insights.
Aspirational and narrative reporting encompasses
everything else within corporate communications.
Again, video is already a commonly used medium, and
AR and VR offer the opportunity to turn the viewer
into a participant within the narrative. “This makes
VR and AR ideal for communicating emotive subjects
such as sustainability, and corporate purpose and
history,” the UK FRC says.
SETTING AND MAINTAINING STANDARDS
Environmental, social and corporate governance
(ESG) reporting has been rising in importance over
the past decade.
In Malaysia, companies have also been moving
towards integrated reporting.
“During this period of the COVID-19 pandemic,
ESG reporting has become more important, and