Cut the Fluff, Keep the Spark: Key Reporting Trends for 2026

In a corporate reporting world that is evolving at pace, companies need to keep abreast of the latest developments to stand out in an increasingly competitive market. From leveraging AI responsibly to sharpening sustainability narratives and refreshing governance disclosures, success in 2026 will hinge on clarity, consistency, and strategic focus.

We’ve identified five key trends shaping both financial and non-financial reporting this year to help you navigate the upcoming reporting cycle.

1. Pack it with punch

As annual reports grew significantly during the early 2020s to meet reporting requirements, we’re seeing a renewed focus on making reports more succinct.

Governments are working to ease the regulatory reporting burden. In the UK, the Department for Business and Trade has announced the proposed introduction of ‘Modernising Corporate Reporting’ legislation to streamline requirements, with a consultation in 2026.

Companies should ensure reports land key messages for investors and broader stakeholders, reviewing reports to reduce duplication, move evergreen content online, and articulate progress concisely.

We’re also supporting clients to streamline sustainability reporting, helping them focus on material topics while maintaining compliance through page-slimming indexing or separate data books.

2. All eyes on AI

AI is driving change across reporting, and 2026 will see AI tools influencing both report creation and how reports are read and interpreted.

Report preparers must balance the efficiencies AI offers - from data collection to drafting - with maintaining quality, authenticity, and a compelling business narrative. Transparency in how these tools are used will be critical to preserving stakeholder trust.

Companies also need to view AI as a new stakeholder. AI tools are more likely to scrape content from websites than traditional reporting PDFs, underlining the need for consistent messages and summaries to be readily available online. In addition, videos and podcasts can help tell a authentic, differentiated story to engage all your stakeholders. So building corporate communications across a range of media is key.

3. It’s not just governance as usual

In 2026, we expect companies to deliver more meaningful governance reporting, prompted by the updated UK Corporate Governance Code, including Provision 29 which came into effect this month.

We’ll be helping clients refresh their governance reporting, paying particular attention to how our clients can better introduce outcomes into Board activities, culture and stakeholder engagement reporting, whilst looking to make reporting more streamlined and relevant by removing boiler-plate disclosures or relocating them online.

4. Sustainability: sharper, shorter, smarter

As sustainability communications have matured, we’ve seen a shift from the ‘shopping list’ approach – discussing everything a company is doing – towards reporting focused on material topics.

2025’s rollbacks to the extensive data requirements have accelerated this trend. We now expect to see the most pressing opportunities and risks posed by the sustainability transition be addressed head-on – think automotive companies focusing on EVs, and construction companies leading with low-carbon materials – while broader ‘topic management’ disclosures fall to the back end of reporting.

This will mean shorter, more refined sustainability sections, and an expectation for transparency as near-term targets loom large. Reporters will further turn their focus to transition plans, as these are part of the incoming UK SRS, and excel as vehicles for transparency and specificity.

5. Keep your spark in a hot market

Standing out in financial markets is always challenging. As the IPO market begins to thaw and smaller companies strive for investor attention, with some moving from AIM to the LSE, a concise and compelling equity story is more crucial than ever.

In a market set to become more crowded, standing out will increasingly depend on how effectively businesses differentiate themselves, explain their business models, and articulate their investment case and strategy.

We’re working closely with our clients to anticipate these changes and embed emerging best practices. If you’d like to explore how these trends could impact your reporting strategy, we’d be happy to help. Contact [email protected] or [email protected]