It might feel early, but now is exactly when companies should begin setting the foundation for their year-end annual reports. Q3 is a critical moment. It comes before content demands pile up, leadership becomes unavailable, and design timelines shrink. Whether your report publishes in January or April, getting ahead now can make the difference between a reactive process and a strategic, high-impact result.
Define your messaging goals early
What do you want the report to communicate this year? Has your business model shifted? Is there a new leadership focus, transformation story, or ESG milestone worth spotlighting?
Start Here: Set up a summer check-in with your leadership team, IR, and communications departments to align on the story direction and messaging pillars. Doing this now creates focus for content development later.
Audit what worked (and didn’t) last year
Take the time to assess last year’s annual report. What content resonated with readers? What feedback did you receive internally and externally? What do you wish you had more time to refine?
Start Here: Build a simple retrospective summary, including content wins, design challenges, and timing gaps, to inform this year’s planning. As noted in the Harvard Law School Forum’s 2025 annual reporting guidance, companies that regularly evaluate past performance are better equipped to deliver reports that resonate with investors and reflect evolving disclosure expectations.
Start your timeline backwards
Begin with your target publish date and plan in reverse. How long does design and production take? How long is needed for executive review? Factor in holidays, stakeholder feedback windows, and SEC filing deadlines. If your company adopted Notice & Access this year, that decision could add more lead time to your process.
Start Here: Create a draft timeline with at least five key phases: message alignment, content development, design, final approvals, and SEC date requirements. Building backward ensures a realistic schedule and helps avoid last-minute surprises.
Engage design early
Design isn’t just a finishing touch. It is a strategic tool that influences how your story is received. If brought in too late, it often becomes disconnected. When involved from the beginning, it helps shape the narrative. Your creative team should be part of the initial discussions to ensure a unified experience.
Start Here: Schedule a creative kickoff in June or July. Share brand updates, business context, and layout preferences to shape early design thinking. For inspiration, see how we applied this approach in our work with Pinnacle, an online annual report that effectively integrates design and strategy.
Don’t wait on data to get moving
Many companies delay content work until final year-end financials are ready. However, most of the narrative such as strategy, values, community impact, and ESG priorities can be developed in parallel during Q3 planning and refined as Q4 concludes.
Start Here: Begin drafting high-level sections now, such as CEO letter themes, ESG priorities, business overviews, and significant changes that need to be addressed. This proactive approach ensures the team is not starting from scratch in Q4 or in Q1 of the following year.
A strong annual report is not made in a month. Teams that begin planning in Q3 have more room to innovate, refine, and deliver something meaningful without last-minute stress. By acting now, you build in the time needed to tell your story with strategy. This delivers clarity to stakeholders and helps you avoid scrambling later.
Ready to start your annual report the right way? Let’s build the framework together. Curran & Connors helps companies lead with clarity and design with impact, starting well before the first draft hits the page.