This is a business communication report that aims at revealing some of the strategic approaches applied by business managers and other organizational leaders to remain competitive in today’s business environment. For the purpose of this paper, the current annual reports for Citicorp and JPMorgan Chase are examined to identify the key approaches that have been applied in the presentation of the information.
The differences perceived in the approaches that have been applied by each of these organizations are clearly observed here. Other key aspects that have been described in this work will include goals, challenges and plans which the two organizations have emphasized in their reports.
This paper also explains how the format and organization of the reports enhance the information provided in the reports. Following is a complete analysis and evaluation of the annual financial reports for each of the two companies in relevance with the concepts highlighted above.
Annual Report for Citicorp
The annual report for Citicorp is well presented in a manner that will enable the company’s clients as well as stakeholders be informed and make the right judgments on the company’s organization and performance. The report provides a detailed overview of the company’s business objectives and success for the last 200 years of operation.
The report also highlights some of the key drivers of the company’s success and prosperity in various regions of the world where the firm has established roots to continue extending its transparent, prudent and reliable finance and banking services (McConnell, 2012).
More importantly, the report touches on some of the most effective strategies applied by the company in ensuring that it sets and retains high standards of quality service in the banking sector.
There is also a letter addressed to the company’s shareholders by the Chief Executive Officer giving a detailed summary of the firm’s plans and developments so far. The CEO provides a complete financial report for the company along with a profile of some of the plans, which the management body intends to implement in order to improve performance and productivity.
The letter to the shareholders also contains previous annual reports for purposes of comparing and emphasizing the firm’s success in business.
Apart from giving an in-depth overview of Citicorp’s wide range of products and services, this annual report has also revealed some of the key management factors and strategies that have been applied within the company over the time to create and uphold value for clients in all sectors. Some of these strategies include financial inclusion, the use of a diverse modern workforce, and commitment to environmental sustainability.
The firm’s financial summary, which constitutes of net revenues, incomes and assets, is well highlighted to show the company’s performance in various areas of concern. The report also provides a clear guideline of the company’s management segments and results of operation, as they are observed from various departments.
As it can be seen from the report, the company’s main focus is to offer the best services and products to its numerous customers across the world. The biggest challenge that modern companies face revolves around economic environment and changes in regulatory standards (Hynes, 2010).
According to the report, these are exactly the same reasons that tend to limit Citicorp’s operation in some regions. Despite all these obstacles, the firm had reported a net income of about $ 11 billion for the year 2011 compared to the generation of the previous year.
Annual Report for JPMorgan Chase
JPMorgan Chase is an American financial firm that offers various financial and banking services to clients all over the world. JPMorgan Chaseand Co. is worthy over $2.3 trillion in assets and slightly over $183 billion in shareholders’ equity. This strong market position and stability make the firm a global leader in a variety of financial services.
Some of the common financial services offered by the company will include financial services for consumers and advancing businesses, private equity, asset management, and commercial banking among other investment-related services.
The annual report for JPMorgan Chase for the year 2011 has also been presented in a clear and well organized style to accord the readers a perfect understanding of the entire organization of the firm. The complete report has been divided in key segments that have been used to address the main parts of the annual report.
The report opens with a brief overview of the company’s business goals and objectives followed by the CEO’s letter to clients and the shareholders. Here, the company’s chairman reveals some of the developments that have been realized by the company in the course of the last years.
The company’s financial summary and analysis are presented in a smart manner where figures for both 2010 and 2011 are given. More importantly, the report provides a five-year analysis of consolidated financial highlights to enable shareholders and clients make a follow up of past performances (Cascini and DelFavero, 2011).
The company’s operations, services, developments and challenges are presented in the segment containing the consolidated financial statements and notes. Some of the effective management strategies applied by the company in conducting its business operations have also been described in the report.
Based on the revelations of this report, it is patently clear that the uncertainty of the economic environment is one of the major issues that have continued to affect the firm’s performance and productivity.
JPMorgan Chase aims at extending its services to other parts of the world, where they can reach a massive number of clients. However, the company’s goal is to continue making a difference in the global financial sector by offering exclusive financial services to clients.
Conclusion
In this paper, the annual financial reports for both Citicorp and JPMorgan Chase have been evaluated to reveal the kind of approaches that have been applied by the firms in presenting their organizational performances and financial report.
Based on this analysis, it is clear that these two companies in the same industry have applied clear presentations to highlight their annual reports, thus making it easier for readers to follow and understand. These analyses have successfully highlighted some of the plans, goals and challenges faced by the organizations, as it is revealed from their respective annual reports for the year 2011.
In this regard, it is patently clear that the uncertain nature of the economic environment is one of the major issues that have continued to pose great challenges in the operations of these two financial companies.
Considering the observations presented in this paper, the format, as well as the overall organization of the two annual reports have significantly enhanced the information being communicated to stakeholders and potential business clients.
References
Cascini, K and DelFavero, A. (2011). An Evaluation of the Implementation of Fair Value Accounting: Impact on Financial Reporting. Journal of Business & Economics Research, 9(1), 17-22.
Hynes, G. (2010). Managerial Communication: Strategies and Applications, 5th Ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
McConnell, P. (2012). The governance of strategic risks in systemically important banks.Journal of Risk Management in Financial Institutions,5(2), 128-142.