27-05-2025
FTSE annual reports now longer than The Da Vinci Code as red tape goes mad
The average FTSE 100 annual report is now longer than The Da Vinci Code as a blizzard of red tape forces companies to churn out epics that almost nobody fully reads.
The word count of FTSE 100 company reports has increased by 27pc since 2019, according to research by the Quoted Companies Alliance (QCA), rising to 152,000 on average – around 13,000 words longer than Dan Brown's 2003 mystery novel.
Some companies produce updates more than double that length. Devoted readers of HSBC's annual report may have to set aside a week or two to get through the 341,880 words over 446 pages that detail the goings on at the London-listed bank. That is almost 100,000 words more than Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
Corporate updates have ballooned in size thanks to a growing list of regulatory requirements and greater scrutiny of issues such as pay, gender and ethnic balance within companies, and the environmental impact of a business.
In its latest report HSBC devoted more than 90 pages to corporate governance, while its environmental, social and governance (ESG)-related disclosures ran on for more than 40 pages, as it discussed financed emissions and how the bank manages climate risk.
Remuneration reports for companies listed on the main market of the London stock exchange have grown in length by 40pc since 2019, now averaging 10,000 words. ESG-related disclosures were found to be around 11,000 words on average, an increase of 236pc since 2019.
While such candour may sound worthy to some, James Ashton, the chief executive of the QCA, said the sheer length of most reports was doing more to obscure information than reveal it.
He said: 'Annual reports can be vital tools for shareholder communication, but as chapter after chapter is added to them every year, it's time to call a halt.
'We need to focus on what's really important to engender investor trust and confidence and discard the waffle that distracts from delivering growth.'
Across all segments of the London Stock Exchange, the length of the average annual report has now ballooned to 98,000 words, which is longer than J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. Even reports on London's junior AIM market, which is meant to be more light-touch, clock in at 42,000 words on average, longer than CS Lewis's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Mr Ashton called on the Government to rethink the UK's corporate reporting regime and work to simplify and standardise reporting requirements for quoted companies.
The QCA wants the requirements for environmental disclosures to be cut down and more simplified rules around reporting on pay. The Department for Business and Trade is expected to hold a consultation later this year on changes to the UK's non-financial reporting framework.
