Annual report design in Malaysia: contents, deadlines and a design schedule

Who has to publish an annual report

“Annual report” and “yearly report” mean the same thing. What the law asks for depends on the type of company.

Company type	What the law requires	Deadline	Where it goes
Listed on Bursa Malaysia (Main or ACE Market)	A full annual report with audited financial statements	Within 4 months of financial year end	Announced on Bursa LINK and issued to shareholders
Public company, not listed	Financial statements and reports laid before the AGM	Set by the AGM timetable in the Companies Act 2016	Members, then SSM
Private company (Sdn Bhd)	Audited financial statements and directors’ report	Circulate within 6 months, lodge with SSM within 30 days of circulation	Members, then SSM

A private company meets the law with its audited accounts alone. A designed annual report is optional, but groups that borrow from banks, raise funds or bid for large contracts often publish one because it shows the business in a way a set of accounts cannot.

This guide is general information, not legal or accounting advice. Your company secretary and auditor set your actual dates.

What goes inside a listed company’s annual report

Bursa Malaysia’s Main Market Listing Requirements, Appendix 9C, sets the minimum contents. In practice most Malaysian annual reports follow this order:

Section	What it covers	Who usually writes it
Corporate information and group structure	Directors, company secretary, registered office, auditors, principal bankers	Company secretary
Chairman’s statement	The year in summary and the outlook	Chairman’s office
Management discussion and analysis	Results, segment review, risks and plans	CFO and CEO
Sustainability statement	Material economic, environmental and social matters	Sustainability team or consultant
Corporate governance overview statement	How the board applied the Malaysian Code on Corporate Governance	Company secretary
Audit committee report, risk management and internal control statement	Committee work and the control framework	Audit committee and internal audit
Directors’ report and audited financial statements	The accounts and the auditors’ report	Finance team and auditors
Analysis of shareholdings, list of properties, notice of AGM	Statutory schedules	Share registrar, finance, company secretary

The financial statements are often half the page count. They are typeset, not designed, but they still need consistent tables, page numbering and cross-references that match the auditors’ signed copy.

The design decisions that matter

Theme and cover. Most groups pick a yearly theme that ties the cover, section dividers and chairman’s message together. Keep it inside your corporate identity so this year’s report still looks like last year’s company.

Charts and tables. Five-year financial highlights, segment revenue and sustainability data are the pages shareholders and analysts actually read. Set one chart style and one table style and use them everywhere.

Language. English is the norm for listed issuers. Some groups add a Bahasa Malaysia or Chinese summary for local shareholders, which adds pages and proof rounds, so decide early.

Print and PDF. Every listed report goes online as a PDF, so plan for screen reading: a file small enough to download on a phone, bookmarks for each section and selectable text. Print a smaller run for the AGM and stakeholders. Our print paper guide covers paper weights for covers and inner pages.

A schedule that works back from the deadline

For a December year end, a listed group has until 30 April. Work back from that date:

Weeks before deadline	Step
12	Brief, theme, page plan and who supplies each section
10	Cover and layout concepts, chart and table styles agreed
8	Narrative copy and photos in, first layout of front sections
6	Audited financial statements in, typesetting starts
4	Full proof to management and the audit committee
2	Board approval, final corrections, PDF checked against the signed accounts
0	Announced on Bursa LINK, print delivered for the AGM

The usual delay is late copy, not design. Ask each department for its section by week 8, and keep one person in charge of approving changes.

Annual report or company profile?

	Annual report	Company profile
Purpose	Reports one financial year to shareholders	Introduces the company to clients, banks and tender panels
Updated	Every year, on a legal deadline	When something changes
Contains	Audited accounts, governance, sustainability	Services, track record, registrations
Readers	Shareholders, analysts, regulators	Buyers and procurement teams

Private groups often need a company profile more than an annual report. Listed groups need both, and the two should share one identity.

How we help

We design annual reports for listed and private groups in Malaysia, working from your finance team’s text, your audited statements and your company secretary’s timetable. We set up the theme, charts and table styles once, so next year’s report is faster to produce. See our corporate work, the InfraHarta case study and our company profile design service. For a fixed quote, send last year’s report and your year end through the quote form.