Genre Analysis of Corporate Annual Report Narratives: A Corpus Linguistics-Based Approach

The study reported on in this article analyzes the U.K. Operating and Financial Review(OFR) as a genre of accounting narrative, employing word frequencies to identify genre rules. Evidence is found of rhetorical ploys within the genre and of differences in word frequencies, suggesting the existence of subgenres, related to the exigencies of the rhetorical situation. The genre employs language biased toward the positive (the “Pollyanna effect”), despite authoritative guidance that the OFR should be expressed in neutral terms. Evidence of subgenres includes differential propensity to employ positive language and differences in the rhetorical ploys adopted in connection with marketing strategy, corporate recovery, selfreference, comparative analysis, and gearing (leverage). The study also demonstrates the value of a corpus linguistics approach in analyzing accounting narratives.