Award Categories

The 2012 Award categories are different to those in 2011. This year they include: 

Best Strategic Leadership

How does a Company demonstrate strategic leadership in narrative reporting? It shows clarity and rigour in its strategic thinking through a well-articulated and robust framework. It demonstrates implicit understanding that effective strategic management is as much about where it has been as where it is now and where it is going – past, present, future. It illustrates how it is investing in the capabilities its strategy will require. It embraces and integrates social, environmental as wells as economic dimensions of the business within that framework. This award acknowledges the FTSE100 or FTSE250 Company that shows strategic leadership most effectively through its corporate reporting. 

Best Group Strategy

This award is for Companies with multiple business segments. More complex corporate structures require even greater clarity of strategic thinking and robust strategic frameworks to show unequivocally that the Group as a whole is worth more than the mere sum of its parts. The truly effective Group strategy discussion will demonstrate: how the Group's business model applies effectively to its underlying businesses, how its declared objectives are relevant to all its business units and how its strategy adds value not otherwise achievable independently. This award recognises the most coherent and complete articulation of Group strategy by a FTSE100 or FTSE250 Company. 

Best Business Model

The business model is the foundation of a Company's strategic framework, defining the logic of the business. The business model provides both data and evidence to demonstrate how an enterprise, whether group of business units or single entity business, creates and delivers value distinctively to its core markets. This requires a Company to understand the sources of competitive advantage that contribute to its profitability across the value system of its enterprise. A well-defined business model enables clearly defined and consistent corporate goals, objectives and strategy. This award recognises the most effective exposition of business model by a FTSE100 or FTSE250 company. 

Best Strategic Governance

Too often a Board seems remote from the essential processes of setting a Company's strategic agenda, evaluating risk sensitivity, addressing integral social and environmental dimensions, and applying strategy oversight in monitoring performance. It is a remoteness that emanates from references to Board involvement that are all too often little more than compliant boilerplate buried in corporate governance statements. Strategically effective companies focus not only on the 'what' of strategy but also on the 'how' that makes it a living driver of value and future potential. This award recognises the most effective presentation of strategic governance by a FTSE100 or FTSE250 company. 

Best Key Performance Indicators

Effective strategy is about the past and present as well as the future. A Company can illustrate strategy in action by reporting its performance against strategic components or priorities, while against explicit goals or objectives it can show specific strategic progress. Of crucial importance are the metrics that measure a company's operational performance on a regular basis to provide senior Executives and the Board with an effective means to monitor strategic achievement. So, the quality of these 'key performance indicator's reveals a Company's potential for good strategic management. This award recognises the FTSE100 or FTSE250 Company that declares the most effective set of KPIs. 

Best Strategic Risk

How a Company thinks about, evaluates and reports risk is another important facet of the quality and rigour of overall strategic thinking. There are two elements to reporting risk. One concerns the process for managing risk. The other concerns the capacity for identifying and prioritising principal risks and uncertainties. Good risk reporting explains risk management processes, recognises that risk can have an upside as well as a downside and focuses on specific factors that may influence the achievement of a Company's desired goals and objectives. It reveals a Company's sensitivity to its future and is a further confirmation of strategic literacy. This award recognises the best reporting of risk by a FTSE100 or FTSE250 company.

Best Strategic Capability

Growth strategy requires continuing investment in the enterprise. Most of this investment in customers, employees, partners, suppliers, distributors and the organisation itself is beyond the balance sheet in hidden assets that are the strengths and resources essential to future growth. Companies that think strategically understand how these capabilities are fundamental to their future success. They also know that it is important to show how they continue to invest in those capabilities that will enable them to deliver their strategy and achieve their goals. This award recognises the most relevant coverage of strategic capability by a FTSE100 or FTSE250 company. 

Most Improved Strategic Value

Companies are increasingly sensitive to the value of Annual Reports and to the benefits good narrative can confer.  But, experience suggests that much of the change and improvement made by Companies in narrative reporting is at best incremental.  Only a few attempt to do anything more radical to enhance the strategic value of their next Annual Report. This is usually because substantial improvement of reporting narrative presents a significant challenge – a challenge that often has as much to do with the impact of such change within the business as it does with how the business reports. Given the challenge of step-change, the Society believes the very best of these efforts deserves recognition. 

Best Shared Shared Value

Shared strategic value is about good stewardship and the fundamental sustainability of a business to the advantage and benefit of all its stakeholders, and sustainability is central to strategic thinking and strategic management. Although many companies prepare a separate sustainability or corporate responsibility report, what really matters is for a Company to show how it integrates its approach to social and environmental matters into its overall strategy for the business, and shares value with all. The Annual Report is the key document for demonstrating this. This award recognises the best evidence of shared value by a FTSE100 or a FTSE250 Company.