Annual report

The document an Indian listed company publishes each year, containing the board's report, the management discussion, the corporate governance report, and the audited standalone and consolidated financial statements with their notes.

It is far longer than it needs to be and most of its length is designed to be skimmed. A trained reader gets the substance in 45 to 60 minutes by reading in a fixed order rather than front to back.

The order that works starts at the back. The auditor's report first, then the notes that carry the judgement, then the cash flow statement, then the balance sheet, then the income statement, and only then the narrative sections at the front.

The front of the report is written by the marketing department. The back is written under liability.