Annual Report Resource Commitment and Distribution Patterns in Australasia

In April 1978 a mail questionnaire was administered to 1230 Australian and 215 New Zealand public companies to solicit annual report resource commitment and distribution patterns. Summarized responses indicate that Australian annual reports for year ended 1977 cost A$2.98 per copy on average to produce and mail, while New Zealand reports for the same period cost NZ$2.50. More than half of these costs is attributable to the printing component. Australian companies employed 99 manhours on average in the preparation and distribution of their reports, while New Zealand companies employed 130 manhours. Eighty percent of all reports distributed by Australian companies were sent to shareholders, while 70 percent of all reports distributed by New Zealand companies were sent to this group.