A Bursa-listed annual report is the document that, more than any other, decides how a Malaysian PLC is read by shareholders, regulators, and the analysts and investors who assess its risk, performance, and cost of capital. The audited financial statements are the legal floor. The narrative around them tells the market whether the year was a recovery, a build-out, or a step-change, and whether the board and management can articulate the strategy that follows.
Many Bursa-listed reports, as I see it from the agency side of the production, still treat content as a compliance exercise. Audited financials, directors’ report, MCCG disclosures, SORMIC, sustainability statement, off to the printer, dispatched ahead of the AGM. The filing clears Bursa, but the document does not always do the work of explaining how value was created or where the company is going. A report that reads well to a shareholder, that an analyst can navigate quickly, and that the board can sign off with confidence sits at a higher quality bar than one that only clears compliance.
This guide walks through the annual report content a Bursa-listed Malaysian company is expected to publish in 2026 and beyond. It covers the mandatory disclosures under the Main Market Listing Requirements (MMLR), the Malaysian Code on Corporate Governance (MCCG) 2021, the Companies Act 2016, and the National Sustainability Reporting Framework (NSRF) that aligns Bursa-listed disclosure with IFRS S1 and S2. It then sets out the narrative sections that distinguish a strong report from a compliant one, the design considerations that shape how readers actually move through the document, and the production realities behind every annual report calendar in Malaysia.
Walk Production is an integrated creative agency in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, Malaysia, producing annual reports, sustainability reports, and integrated reports for Bursa-listed companies, GLCs, and statutory bodies, delivered by a 40-person in-house team across editorial, design, infographic, photography, and print production.
What “annual report content” means under Bursa rules
The phrase “annual report content” is used loosely. In practice, a Bursa-listed annual report is governed by three sets of rules that overlap rather than nest cleanly.
The Main Market Listing Requirements (MMLR). Issued and maintained by Bursa Malaysia. Appendix 9C of the MMLR sets out the prescribed content for an annual report, including the directors’ report, audited financial statements, statement on directors’ responsibility, audit committee report, SORMIC, additional compliance information, recurrent related-party transactions where applicable, utilisation of proceeds where applicable, and the sustainability statement. ACE Market issuers follow the parallel ACE LR with broadly equivalent content under its own Appendix.
The Companies Act 2016. Section 253 governs the directors’ report and Section 248 to 256 cover the financial statements that must accompany it. The Act sets the legal baseline for every Malaysian limited company; the MMLR layers on the additional disclosure required of listed entities.
The Malaysian Code on Corporate Governance (MCCG) 2021. Issued by the Securities Commission Malaysia. MCCG is “comply or explain” rather than mandatory line-by-line, but the MMLR requires every Bursa-listed company to publish a Corporate Governance Overview Statement (CG Overview) referring to the practices applied and the practices departed from, plus a Corporate Governance Report (CG Report) on Bursa’s prescribed template that addresses each MCCG Practice in turn.
In addition to these three, a Bursa-listed company has to meet the National Sustainability Reporting Framework (NSRF) inside its annual report. NSRF is the framework that aligns Malaysian sustainability disclosure with the ISSB’s IFRS S1 (general sustainability) and IFRS S2 (climate) standards, phased in from FY 2025 for the largest issuers. Section three of this guide covers the timeline in detail.
Content sits across four registers at once: a legal register (Companies Act and MMLR), a governance register (MCCG), a sustainability register (NSRF and IFRS S1/S2), and a narrative register (chairman’s statement, MD&A, value-creation story). Each carries a different reader and sign-off chain. Confusion about which content belongs in which register is the most common reason a report drifts off-brief during production.
The mandatory disclosure floor
Every Bursa-listed annual report has to clear a baseline of mandatory content. Missing any of the items below will not clear internal review, let alone Bursa. The list is condensed; the live MMLR Appendix 9C, the MCCG, and the Companies Act remain the authoritative texts. Always confirm the current published version of each before sign-off.
Audited financial statements
A complete set of audited financial statements prepared under Malaysian Financial Reporting Standards (MFRS), which the Malaysian Accounting Standards Board (MASB) aligns with IFRS Accounting Standards. The statements cover the statement of financial position, the statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income, the statement of changes in equity, the statement of cash flows, and detailed notes including accounting policies. The independent auditor’s report, addressed to the shareholders, expresses an opinion on whether the statements give a true and fair view under MFRS and the Companies Act 2016.
Directors’ report
The directors’ report sits under Section 253 of the Companies Act 2016 and accompanies the financial statements. It covers the principal activities of the company and its subsidiaries, the results for the financial year, dividends declared and paid, reserves and provisions, directors’ interests (including shareholdings and any benefits received), directors’ remuneration and retirement benefits, indemnity arrangements for directors and officers, auditor remuneration, a solvency statement under Section 252 in the case of a dividend declaration, and a statement on items of a material or unusual nature. The board approves the report; at least two directors sign it.
Corporate governance disclosures
Bursa Malaysia requires every listed issuer to publish a two-part governance disclosure. The Corporate Governance Overview Statement summarises governance practices across three areas under MCCG 2021: board leadership and effectiveness, audit and risk management, and meaningful relationships with stakeholders. The Corporate Governance Report addresses each MCCG Practice using Bursa’s prescribed template, and where a company departs from a Practice, the report has to explain the reasoning and describe the alternative measures applied. Both documents are published alongside the annual report and are filed with Bursa within four months of the financial year end.
Statement on risk management and internal control (SORMIC)
Known on the agency side simply as the SORMIC, this statement sets out how the board identifies, assesses, monitors, and mitigates principal risks across the group. The board confirms that internal controls are adequate and effective for the financial year under review. External auditors review the SORMIC under guidance from the Malaysian Institute of Accountants, including Recommended Practice Guide 5 (Revised). The scope of the SORMIC has widened over the past three reporting cycles to cover emerging ESG and climate-related risks alongside the traditional financial, operational, and compliance risks.
Audit Committee Report
A standalone report from the Audit Committee covering its composition, the meeting frequency for the financial year, the key matters reviewed (financial reporting issues, audit findings, internal audit work, related-party transactions, whistleblowing matters), and the committee’s oversight of the external and internal auditors. The committee chair signs the report. Specificity is what separates a strong Audit Committee Report from a generic one: a board-room reader looks for the named matters reviewed, not a restatement of the terms of reference.
Sustainability statement
Since the FY 2016 phased introduction, every Bursa-listed company has had to include a board-approved sustainability statement covering material economic, environmental, and social topics. The disclosure framework moved to Enhanced Sustainability Reporting (commonly referred to as MSER 2.0) from FY 2023. Bursa-listed sustainability disclosure is now transitioning under the National Sustainability Reporting Framework (NSRF), developed by the Advisory Committee on Sustainability Reporting (ACSR), endorsed by the Ministry of Finance, and published through the Securities Commission Malaysia, aligned with the ISSB’s IFRS S1 and S2. Implementation is phased through regulator guidance, including the Bursa sustainability framework page.
NSRF and IFRS S1/S2 adoption timeline
The most consequential change to Bursa annual report content over the last two reporting cycles is the adoption of the National Sustainability Reporting Framework. NSRF references the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards (IFRS S1 and S2) issued by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), and phases adoption across Bursa-listed issuers by market capitalisation and market segment.
Per Bursa Malaysia’s sustainability framework page, the phased timeline applies to financial years beginning on or after the following dates.
| Market segment | Market capitalisation threshold | First NSRF reporting year (FY beginning on or after) |
|---|---|---|
| Main Market - large cap | Above RM2 billion as at 31 December 2024 | 1 January 2025 |
| Main Market - remaining issuers | Below the large-cap threshold | 1 January 2026 |
| ACE Market | All issuers | 1 January 2027 |
Two transition reliefs are particularly relevant to the first reporting cycle:
- Climate-only in year one. For the first reporting year, Main Market large-cap issuers may focus disclosure on climate-related risks and opportunities under IFRS S2 and defer general sustainability disclosure under IFRS S1 in the first year.
- Scope 3 GHG deferral. Disclosure of Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions can be deferred for the early years of adoption, reflecting the data-collection lead time many Malaysian issuers face on their value chains.
Always confirm the live timeline and reliefs with the Bursa Malaysia sustainability page and the IFRS Foundation’s Sustainability Standards Navigator before signing off the framework section of your annual report. Bursa periodically updates the guidance in line with regulator consultation and global ISSB developments.
Three things follow from NSRF adoption for the content team drafting the sustainability section.
The framework reference matters. As Bursa-listed sustainability disclosure transitions under the NSRF/ISSB-aligned framework, the statement increasingly references that framework alongside the existing Bursa sustainability requirements. Naming the framework correctly, with a paragraph on which year of phased adoption applies, signals that the disclosure has been built against the current standard.
Governance disclosure inside the sustainability statement is heavier. IFRS S2 requires disclosure of the governance processes, controls, and procedures the board uses to monitor climate-related risks and opportunities, plus the role of management in assessing those risks. That cannot be lifted from prior years’ boilerplate.
Strategy disclosure separates physical from transitional climate risks. Bursa-listed issuers disclose how each risk category could affect the business model and value chain over the short, medium, and long term, plus strategy resilience under different climate scenarios. A practical first-year approach is qualitative scenario narrative supported by the existing risk register, with quantitative climate analysis deepened over subsequent cycles as data and modelling capacity build up.
For more on how the broader sustainability landscape in Malaysia is evolving, see our Bursa sustainability reporting guide and the regulatory layering across MMLR, NSRF, and IFRS S1/S2 and our notes on the elements of a sustainability report.
Narrative sections that build trust
The mandatory disclosure floor in the previous two sections is the regulatory baseline. The narrative sections below are not strictly required by the MMLR line by line, but they are present in every Bursa-listed annual report I have seen produced for the Malaysian market. They are also the sections an analyst, a fund manager, or an award-focused review team actually reads first.
Chairman’s statement
The chairman’s statement sets the tone for the entire report. It looks back over the year from the perspective of the board and looks forward to the strategic direction the board is asking management to pursue. A strong chairman’s statement does three things at once: it acknowledges the year’s challenges honestly, it frames the financial result against the strategic backdrop the board set at the start of the year, and it lays out the board’s view of the next 12 to 36 months. It reads as a personal letter from a chairman to long-term holders, not a templated foreword that could sit on any other PLC’s report.
CEO or managing director’s review
The CEO review bridges the chairman’s statement and operational detail. Where the chairman speaks to the year and strategy, the CEO speaks to how strategy was executed. The section typically covers segment performance, key operational metrics, market conditions during the year, capital expenditure and capacity decisions, key initiatives launched, and what the management team is focused on for the year ahead. The combination of chairman’s statement and CEO review reads strongest when the two voices are clearly distinct.
Management discussion and analysis (MD&A)
The MD&A is the analytical backbone of any annual report. It goes deeper than the financial statements into revenue drivers, cost structures, segment performance, capital allocation, working capital movement, gearing, and capital expenditure. Under MCCG Practice 2.1, the board is encouraged to disclose a transparent discussion of business operations, market environment, and future outlook. Reports prepared for NACRA-style review typically use the MD&A to draw clear lines between strategy, performance, and risk.
A practical content rule: every quantitative claim ties back to a specific line in the audited financial statements, and every forward-looking statement carries a cautionary disclosure explaining the basis of preparation and the principal assumptions.
Financial highlights and five-year review
A well-designed financial highlights section translates dense accounting data into a quick visual summary. The standard format is a five-year comparison of revenue, profit before tax, profit attributable to shareholders, earnings per share, dividends per share, return on equity, total assets, and net assets per share, supported by trend charts and ratio dashboards. This section is often the first piece of analytical content a non-specialist reader engages with; the design of these few spreads determines whether the rest of the report gets read at all.
Value creation model
Increasingly common in Malaysian integrated reports: a single spread that maps inputs (financial capital, human capital, manufactured capital, intellectual capital, natural capital, social and relationship capital) to outputs and outcomes for stakeholders. The IIRC framework that underpins the value creation model is now folded into the broader IFRS Foundation work, but the spread remains a useful design device for connecting the financial result to the sustainability disclosure.
Stakeholder engagement and materiality
Strong sustainability statements describe how the company identified its material ESG topics. MMLR Appendix 9C carries disclosure on stakeholder identification, engagement types, frequency, and responsiveness, plus the material sustainability matters that emerged from the engagement.
NSRF and IFRS S1 take an investor-focused view: the company identifies sustainability-related risks and opportunities that could reasonably be expected to affect its financial position, performance, cash flows, access to finance, or cost of capital over the short, medium, and long term. This is financial materiality, assessed from the perspective of the primary users of general-purpose financial reports. Where an issuer also references GRI Standards or publishes a separate sustainability report, an impact materiality view (how the company’s activities affect people and the environment) sits alongside the ISSB lens and is clearly distinguished from it. Where a separate sustainability report is published, the annual report section still carries a clean materiality summary and links out to the fuller document.
For issuers running an integrated report rather than two separate documents, the integrated annual report format sits well alongside IFRS S1/S2 because both share the same starting point: connecting financial performance with the sustainability matters that affect long-term value creation.
Governance content that goes deeper
The MCCG and the MMLR set the floor for governance disclosure. Bursa-listed issuers with serious institutional investor coverage tend to go beyond the floor in three specific areas.
Board composition and skills matrix
MMLR Paragraph 15.08 carries the disclosure requirements on board composition. Appendix 9C carries the wider annual report disclosure on the board, including diversity. A board skills matrix is the most common way Bursa-listed issuers go beyond a simple director-by-director biography. The matrix maps each director against the skills, experience, and tenure that the board considers material to the company’s strategy: industry experience, financial expertise, audit, risk, technology, sustainability, geographic exposure, and so on. The narrative explains how the mix supports the strategy.
Audit and risk committee disclosure
The mandatory Audit Committee Report is the floor. A strong report goes beyond by naming the key matters reviewed during the year (specific accounting judgements, material related-party transactions, fraud investigations, whistleblowing matters), describing how audit quality was assessed, and disclosing actions taken on internal audit findings. The same applies to the Risk Management Committee where risk oversight has been split out from the audit committee.
Remuneration disclosure
Under MCCG Practice 8, listed issuers are encouraged to disclose senior management remuneration on a named-individual or banded basis, depending on the practice applied. While historically Malaysian issuers have provided minimal remuneration detail beyond aggregate director remuneration disclosed under the Companies Act, more issuers have moved toward a clear remuneration report that links pay to performance over multi-year incentive periods. Institutional investors and proxy advisers read this section closely; the long-term trend in Malaysia is toward greater transparency.
Annual report vs annual review vs standalone sustainability
A frequent question from new listed clients: should this be an annual report, an annual review, an integrated report, or a separate sustainability report? Each format carries a different content set and a different reader.
| Format | Reader | Content scope | Typical issuer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual report | Shareholders, regulators, analysts | Full MMLR mandatory disclosure plus narrative | Every Bursa-listed PLC |
| Integrated report | Shareholders plus broader stakeholders | Annual report content woven with sustainability content in one document | Increasingly common for Bursa-listed PLCs |
| Annual review | Stakeholders, peers, the general public | Highlights, milestones, narrative, photography; no full audited financials | Statutory bodies, universities, GLCs that are not Bursa-listed |
| Standalone sustainability report | ESG analysts, rating agencies, regulators | Extended ESG metrics, GRI-referenced indicators, TCFD-aligned climate disclosure | Bursa-listed issuers with mature ESG initiatives |
For Bursa-listed issuers, the choice is usually between a traditional annual report plus a standalone sustainability report, or a single integrated annual report. The standalone route gives the ESG analyst community a fuller document at the cost of a second sign-off cycle and a second print run. The integrated route gives the lay reader one document but requires the editorial team to keep the financial and sustainability narratives in sync.
Statutory bodies, universities, and non-listed GLCs more often publish an annual review. The annual review carries highlights, narrative, photography, and infographic-led data without the mandatory financial-statement and governance disclosure of a Bursa-listed annual report.
Bilingual considerations for Malaysian readers
Bursa-listed annual reports are usually published in English. Statutory bodies, GLCs that hold a national mandate, and listed issuers with material government or domestic-retail stakeholder bases more often publish a bilingual Bahasa Malaysia and English document, or a parallel pair of single-language documents.
Bilingual layout planning has to handle text expansion. Bahasa Malaysia can run longer than the same English content, affecting column widths, page breaks, and total extent. Two practical approaches:
- Parallel layout places both languages side by side on the same spread in a two-column format. Best for shorter sections such as the chairman’s statement, CEO review, executive summary, and governance disclosures.
- Sequential layout presents the full report in one language first, followed by the complete document in the second language. Best for longer technical sections, financial statement notes, and sustainability data tables.
Whichever approach you choose, hold consistent typography, heading hierarchy, page numbering, and cover treatment across both language versions. Inconsistency between languages signals carelessness.
For statutory bodies in particular, the bilingual mandate sits at the centre of the brief. Walk Production’s work on the Malaysian Aviation Commission (MAVCOM) 2023 annual report covered art direction, copywriting, Bahasa Malaysia translation, graphic design, and print production in parallel English and BM versions so each reader received the same regulatory content without one language reading as an afterthought of the other.
Print specifications for Malaysian annual reports
Annual report print specifications are agreed brief by brief, against the client’s house standards, AGM distribution plan, and budget. There is no single “Bursa default”; there is a stable set of production variables to walk through. The table sets out those variables and the considerations behind each.
| Production variable | Common considerations |
|---|---|
| Cover stock | Heavier coated stocks (commonly in the 250-350 GSM range) are typical for board-room presentation feel; matt lamination is common for a corporate look, gloss for a brighter shelf-read |
| Inner pages | Coated art paper at varying weights; the chosen GSM trades opacity for total document weight and shelf bulk |
| Binding | Saddle-stitch suits shorter publications, perfect binding suits mid-length runs, and thread-sewn (Smyth-sewn) suits longer documents that need to lie open and survive a multi-year shelf life. The break points are a project judgment call rather than a fixed page rule |
| Cover finish | Matt or gloss lamination are common base finishes; spot UV, foiling, and embossing are optional treatments usually applied to logos, theme motifs, or cover typography rather than body content |
| Print method | Larger print runs typically use CMYK offset for unit-cost efficiency; shorter director or boardroom-copy runs sometimes use digital presses where unit cost and turnaround favour digital over offset |
A note on binding: for longer annual reports expected to sit on a shelf as a multi-year reference, sewn binding tends to hold up better than glue-only binding over the document’s working life. The right specification depends on page count, run size, distribution plan, and expected shelf life, and is always confirmed against the client brief. For shorter publications (sustainability summaries, integrated report executive summaries, annual reviews) lighter formats such as saddle-stitch, perfect-bind, or short-run digital are common.
4 Walk Production Bursa-listed projects
These four projects, all delivered by Walk Production’s in-house team, illustrate the range of annual report content a Bursa-listed issuer or comparable Malaysian organisation might produce. Naming is taken directly from each company’s official listing record.
Swift Haulage Berhad 2024 (Main Market)
Swift Haulage Berhad is an integrated logistics group on the Bursa Main Market. The 2024 annual report ran to 222 pages as a single integrated document covering operational review, sustainability statement, and audited financial statements. Walk Production’s scope covered annual report design, infographic design, report copywriting, sustainability statement copywriting, and print production.
The design brief was to communicate the group’s evolution from a traditional haulier into a modern integrated logistics provider while threading sustainability content through the operational narrative rather than parking it in a back-of-book appendix. Walk Production handled the print production from pre-press through binding, with paper and finishing specifications agreed against the client’s house standards and the 222-page extent.
Sarawak Oil Palms Berhad 2024 (Main Market)
Sarawak Oil Palms Berhad (SOP) is a Sarawak-based plantation, property, and trading group on the Bursa Main Market. The 2024 report ran to 280 pages with an integrated treatment of sustainability content woven through the operational chapters rather than confined to a separate ESG section. Scope covered annual report design, infographic design, proofreading, media advertisement placement, print production, and direct mail distribution to registered shareholders.
The wider scope, from design through media placement and direct mail delivery, is closer to what a Main Market issuer with a heavy retail shareholder register typically requires. Coordinating the design, print, mail-house, and statutory advertisement schedule against the AGM date is the project management discipline that holds the calendar together.
Sunview Group Berhad 2023 (ACE Market)
Sunview Group Berhad is a construction and engineering group on the Bursa ACE Market. The 2023 annual report covered concept development, visual and layout design, infographic design, and print production, with the design concept structured around the group’s revenue growth and forward project pipeline. ACE Market annual reports follow a parallel set of Listing Requirements to the Main Market, with the same baseline content set but slightly different thresholds for items such as recurrent related-party transaction disclosure.
Icon Offshore Berhad 2023 (Main Market)
Icon Offshore Berhad operates offshore vessels supporting oil and gas exploration and production, on the Bursa Main Market. The 2023 annual report was developed around an ESG-integrated structure with environmental performance, safety records, and governance disclosure woven through the operational chapters rather than separated into a back-of-book sustainability section. The design concept used ocean-inspired graphic elements and a blue-green palette to connect the operational environment with the company’s environmental focus.
Two further projects sit alongside the Bursa-listed work in the same agency calendar because they cover content formats Bursa-listed issuers regularly publish in parallel.
Annual review variant: Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP) 2023
UTP’s 2023 Annual Review is an annual review rather than a Bursa-listed annual report. UTP is a private university and not a listed entity, so the publication carries institutional highlights, research outputs, ranking metrics, and milestone narrative without the mandatory financial-statement and governance disclosure required of a Bursa-listed PLC. For a listed group that also runs a foundation, a university, or a non-listed subsidiary, the annual review format is often the right vehicle for the non-listed entity’s annual storytelling, with the listed parent carrying the formal annual report.
Statutory body: Malaysian Aviation Commission (MAVCOM) 2023
The MAVCOM 2023 annual report is a statutory body publication, not a Bursa-listed annual report. The brief covered art direction, copywriting, Bahasa Malaysia translation, graphic design, and print production across parallel English and BM versions. For statutory body and government-agency clients, the bilingual mandate sits at the centre of the brief and shapes the design system, page architecture, and production timeline from day one.
What NACRA tells us about reporting quality
The National Annual Corporate Report Awards (NACRA) are organised jointly by Bursa Malaysia, the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA), and MICPA. NACRA comprises four award categories, including Excellence Awards and Special Awards. For the Excellence Awards, entrants are assessed across six areas including corporate information, sustainability reporting, and corporate governance. Refer to the current NACRA 2025 brochure for the live framework and category breakdown.
A theme award-focused review teams often work toward in our experience is connectivity. The financial statements may be sound, the sustainability statement detailed, the governance disclosure thorough, but the connections between the three are not always made on the page. How does the principal risk register feed the strategy? How does the materiality assessment feed the sustainability statement? How does climate-related disclosure under IFRS S2 feed the SORMIC? Reports preparing for NACRA-style review tend to make those connections explicit.
A related editorial point: narrative sections read strongest in a single distinctive voice. Chairman’s statements and CEO reviews edited for weeks until every distinctive phrase is gone tend to read as templated.
Content flow and page architecture
The most effective Bursa-listed annual reports follow a stable content flow. Variations exist, but the order below is the one most readers expect.
- Cover, theme statement, contents
- Corporate information (company profile, board, key management, group structure)
- Five-year financial highlights
- Key event timeline for the financial year
- Chairman’s statement
- Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A)
- Sustainability statement (or integrated sustainability content threaded through the narrative)
- Corporate Governance Overview Statement
- Audit Committee Report
- Statement on Risk Management and Internal Control (SORMIC)
- Other compliance statements (Directors’ Responsibility Statement, Additional Compliance Information)
- Directors’ Report (Section 253)
- Audited Financial Statements
- Statement by Directors and Statutory Declaration
- Independent Auditor’s Report
- Additional information (analysis of shareholdings, list of properties, recurrent related-party transactions where applicable)
- Notice of AGM and Proxy Form
Variations on this order are common. The chairman’s statement sometimes opens the report immediately after the cover. Sustainability content is sometimes integrated through the operational narrative rather than appearing as a standalone section. Variation is fine. What matters is that the reader can find every mandatory item, and that the design respects the way the report is actually read: front to back for the narrative, by section for the analyst, by page reference for the regulator.
Planning the annual report calendar
A Bursa annual report typically runs to a four-to-five month production calendar from concept kickoff to delivered print copies. Working backwards from the AGM date is the practical way to set the schedule.
| Month | Stage | Critical content tasks |
|---|---|---|
| Month 1 | Concept and structure | Theme development, content structure, page architecture, design moodboards, executive interview schedule |
| Month 2 | Content drafting (narrative and sustainability) | Chairman’s statement, CEO review, MD&A, sustainability statement, materiality refresh |
| Month 3 | Financial integration and design rounds | Financial statements drop into layout, first design rounds, board feedback, adviser feedback |
| Month 4 | Sign-off, audit, and proof rounds | Audit sign-off, sustainability assurance sign-off where applicable, board approval, final proofs |
| Month 5 | Print, dispatch, and digital release | Print production, AGM packs, direct mail, Bursa filing, microsite, interactive PDF |
Compressed two-to-three-month timelines are workable when source content (financials, sustainability metrics, operational narrative) is ready at briefing. The compressed schedule trades concept exploration for production speed: the design system tightens up, executive interview rounds shorten, and editorial works in parallel with audit sign-off rather than after it.
The cleanest calendars share three features. The board agrees theme and structure at the start rather than at design round three. Sustainability content is compiled alongside the financial data rather than bolted on after close. Audit and sustainability assurance teams are looped in from day one so the sign-off chain is sequenced.
Common content gaps that weaken Bursa reports
A handful of content gaps come up consistently across Bursa-listed annual reports.
Strategy disclosure that does not connect to performance. Chairman’s and CEO content that talks about strategy in abstract terms alongside an MD&A that talks about performance in numerical terms, with no bridge between the two. The reader cannot tell whether the strategic priorities the board set at the start of the year actually drove the financial result.
Sustainability statement that reads as a separate document. Despite NSRF and IFRS S1/S2, some sustainability statements still read as standalone disclosures with no visible connection to the strategy, the risk register, or the financial result. The common indicator: a different writing voice, graphic system, and colour palette from the rest of the report.
SORMIC without principal risks. A SORMIC that describes the risk management framework in detail but does not name the principal risks the board sees facing the group. Without the named risks, the SORMIC does not tell the reader what the board is worrying about.
Audit Committee Report without specific matters reviewed. A report that recites terms of reference and meeting frequency without naming the actual issues considered during the year. A board-room reader looks for specificity here.
Five-year highlights without commentary. A five-year financial summary with no narrative explaining the inflection points (acquisitions, divestments, capital raisings, regulatory changes) leaves the reader to interpret the numbers in isolation.
Stale photography. Photography recycled from prior years (same boardroom shot, same factory floor, same site visit) is a low-cost signal of currency working against the report.
Generic chairman’s statement. A statement that could be lifted out of this report and dropped into any other Bursa-listed PLC’s report. The strongest chairman’s statements are unmistakably the voice of one chairman speaking about one company in one specific year.
How Walk Production can help
Walk Production is an integrated annual report design agency in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor producing annual reports, sustainability reports, and integrated reports for Bursa-listed companies, GLCs, and statutory bodies. Our 40-person in-house team handles concept development, annual report copywriting, bilingual Bahasa Malaysia and English translation, layout design, infographic design, photography, interactive PDF, print production, and AGM-stage distribution under a single account team.
Our publication portfolio includes Bursa-listed annual reports alongside sustainability reports, integrated reports, and statutory body publications. The reporting projects we work on regularly involve coordinating governance content, sustainability disclosure, financial integration, and stakeholder review against the AGM calendar. For issuers approaching the FY 2025 or FY 2026 NSRF adoption window, start the content conversation early so the sustainability statement is drafted alongside the financial close rather than after it.
Talk to our team if your next reporting cycle is open and the content brief is still being shaped.
Alissa Nazeri is the Account Director for Corporate Reporting at Walk Production, an integrated creative agency in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, Malaysia. She leads the corporate reporting team and manages annual reports, sustainability reports, and integrated reports, including impact reporting work for Bank Islam, PIDM, and UNDP Malaysia, and annual reports for Swift Haulage.
