Any company cannot function without effective communication. Since financial information is needed by a broad range of stakeholders, such as staff, customers, managers, banks, and the government, clear financial communication is an important tool in efficiency. In this post, I will compare the financial report visuals of Coca-Cola and Pepsi.
To hold people’s focus, both businesses use identical and contrasting graphics. Both companies have large graphic images. This images take up a large portion of the pages, especially the first page, in order to immediately catch the viewer’s interest (Kimmel & Kieso, 2016). The have used colorful, full-spread and conceptual images for different sections. People always want to be told the company’s story, and these pictures tell it all. Pepsi has even used small photos in most of its pages to relay certain information. Both firms have incorporated the use infographics and clear financial statistics. Creating infographics of statistical information will help readers quickly understand key company and organization data without spending too much time interpreting numbers (Locker & Kienzler, 2014). In my case, the Coca-Cola Company has greatly used infographics whereas Pepsi on its part has used clear data which is easy to understand.
The Coca-Cola Company has used Mission, Goals, and Messaging as a visual technique at the first pages. These provide a chance to reiterate the organization’s missions (Bergeron, 2013). Both organizations have used an Intuitive Navigation/Section Flow creating color coding, and section dividers to ensure continuity from one page to the other. Lastly, making it digitally available means that the reader can take advantage of media components.
The CEO’s have used different methods to release messages in their letters. The Pepsi Company’s CEO has first started by acknowledging the progress that the business has made over the past few years and how they have been able to cope with challenges. On the other hand, the Coca-Cola Company’s CEO’s letter contains the Company’s mission and goals and the strategies the company wishes to incorporate to achieve the goals
The two companies have devised means through which they can present heavy number information. The Pepsi Company has mostly used bar graphs to present this data whereas the Pepsi Company has used tables. For both, it becomes easy for the reader to understand the information that the Company wishes to relay (Locker & Kienzler, 2014). In some instances, it is ultimately apparent that some negative information has given a negative spin. The Pepsis Inc. CEO in addresses talks about the 2008 financial crisis and how it affected the operation of the Company. She speaks of the sluggish economy, foreign currency pressures, intensified regulatory pressures and violence. What makes it a standing point is the way she maneuvers the situation by saying that despite the challenges the company was able to adjust its sails. It gives the business an upper hand, gaining trust from important stakeholders (Locker & Kienzler, 2014).
Of the two statements, the Coca-Cola Company report is easier to understand than that of Pepsi Company. Besides using pictures, the report is organized in short paragraphs and sentences making them easier to read and understand. Unlike the Pepsi’s report which is a general overview of the whole company, the Coca-Cola Company report is organized into sections comprising of market segments and brands. This makes it real and easy for analysis. Also, it is more interesting to read because it is more consistent making it more engaging and it also has less information overload. Several quotes from the employees in the report make it live because words from the horse’s mouth are very powerful (Bergeron, 2013). It is more convincing for Coca-Cola Company because for each strategy; a sound projection accompanies it.
References
Bergeron, B. P. (2013). Essentials of XBRL: Financial reporting in the 21st century. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley.
Kimmel, P. D & Kieso, D. E. (2016). Financial accounting: Tools for business decision making.
Locker, K., Kienzler, D. (01/2014). Business and Administrative Communication, 11th Edition. [Bookshelf Online]. Retrieved from https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/1260088782/
