How to Cite an Annual Report
When writing a research paper, journal or other document, you may use a corporation's annual report as a reference work. When this is done, you are responsible for acknowledging the source within the work. The annual report is cited in the same format as a book. Corporations issue annual reports to its investors. It is required for companies that are publicly held. The report informs investors of the financial health of the corporation and discloses the financial and operational highlights of the previous year along with corporate strategies to advance growth and optimize company performance.
Step 1
Confirm that all data taken from the annual report is accurate. The annual report may be cited by using Modern Language Association style, American Psychological Association or Chicago style. As an example, assume that you used financial data from the 2010 Annual Report of Writers Group located in New York City in compiling a research paper. The report is available in printed report form but was also accessed online on Feb. 1, 2011.
Step 2
Cite the printed annual report using MLA style. The citation should be in the following order: corporation, the title of the report in italics, publisher location and publisher, the year of publication and the medium, for example:
Writers Group. 2010 Annual Report (italics). New York, NY: Writers Group, 2010. Print.
Step 3
Cite the online annual report using MLA style. The citation should be in the following order: corporation, the report title in italics, publication location followed by a colon and the publishing company and publication year. After the publication year, include the database or website in italics, state the medium and include the date of last access, for example:
Writers Group. 2010 Annual Report (italicized). New York, NY: Writers Group, 2010. Writers Group (italicized). Web. 01 Feb 2011.
Step 4
Cite the printed annual report using APA style. The citation should be in the following order: corporation, publication year in parenthesis, the title of the report in italics, the publication location and the publisher, for example:
Writers Group. (2010). 2010 Annual Report (italics). New York, NY: Writers Group.
Step 5
Cite the online annual report using APA style. The citation should be in the following order: corporation, publication year in parenthesis, the title of the report in italics and the website from which the report was retrieved, for example:
Writers Group. (2010). 2010 Annual Report (italics). Retrieved from http://www.writersgroup.com/annualreport/2010/pdf/2010annualreport.pdf.
Step 6
Cite the printed annual report using the Chicago style. The citation should be in the following order: corporation's name, publication year in parenthesis, the title of the report in italics, city of publication followed by a colon and the publisher, for example:
Writers Group. (2010). 2010 Annual Report (italics). New York, NY: Writers Group.
Step 7
Cite the online annual report using the Chicago style. The details should be in the following order: corporation, title of the report, access date and the website from which the report was taken, for example:
Writers Group, 2010 Annual Report, accessed February 1, 2011, http://www.writersgroup.com/annualreport/2010/pdf/2010annualreport.pdf.
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References
Writer Bio
Keela Helstrom began writing in 2010. She is a Certified Public Accountant with over 10 years of accounting and finance experience. Though working as a consultant, most of her career has been spent in corporate finance. Helstrom attended Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and has her Bachelor of Science in accounting.
