Here at Pomelo-Paradigm, project management is one of the pillars of our regulatory publishing expertise. Each day, we observe a wide variety of practices that can always be improved. With the regulatory publishing season in full swing, all teams involved in Annual Reports creation are facing these challenges. Each year brings changes new procedures and changes, as well as in the formats and regulations themselves. That’s why we’d like to review five common mistakes that should be avoid when creating these documents.
Partitionned Redaction
There are so many contributors involved in a regulatory publication project like the Annual Report… So many, in fact, that it might seem simpler for each person to work on their part independently and then combine all the sections in the final phase. The result of this approach? When it comes time to bring all the content together, the process becomes a real headache, and the teams lose track of their wasted time. By choosing a collaborative platform like Pomdoc DM, you bring all contributors together from the outset in the final document, allowing for a comprehensive overview throughout the project and preventing unpleasant surprises at the time of publication.
Using software without traceability
John from the consonlidation department spent his entire evening drafting his quarterly financial review. He saved everything in his usual document editor, in a shared folder. But the next morning, he’s astonished because all his work in his document management system had vanished. If only John’ss management had opted for a Disclosure Management solution with history tracking, he could have easily identified that Michael had made a wrong manipulation. He could have easily restored the work in a few clicks and continued on his way. Instead, John is going to spend a good part of the morning searching for yesterday’s work…
Hence the importance of traceability. But be careful, platforms offering history tracking features are not for playing cops. They allow an intelligent clarification of an unusual situation by reviewing an action taken (as in John’s case), leading to a better understanding of the project and thus saving precious time.
Translation underestimation
This year, Jacqueline once again opted for her usual document management software for the annual report. But when it was time to send the final document to the translator, disaster struck. Multiple exchanges became frequent, and deadlines began to mount as the publication date approached. Choose a platform that allows exporting to multiple formats. Because by sending an XLIFF file, you’ll make the translator’s difficult task easier, and everyone will be satisfied with it!
Too competitive deadlines
During the kick-off meeting, the regulatory publication project manager was confident: “Last year, the entire consolidation department already had its figures by the end of the month, so let’s use the same timeframe!”. Except that two maternity leaves and a sick leave later, panic set in and the deadlines became impossible to meet.
Always allow for some flexibility by trying to schedule dates within a realistic timeline, decided with stakeholders. Anticipate milestones with meetings (without falling into the trap of endless meetings). In short, be wise and attentioned, even if it means planning too far ahead and allowing extra time for a more relaxed review. And yes, some deadlines are unfortunately unavoidable and require considerable effort. Also, unexpected is part of everyday life. But this is the exception that proves that “prevention is better than cure!”.
Manual over automation
Performing each check manually, one by one, is still a significant undertaking. Even today, many contributors still enter or validate figures manually. With a solution like Pomdoc DM, you automate the entire data entry process. And when the solution is API-friendly, you benefit from seamless integration with your existing tools, updating all your data with a single click. That’s a real time-saver!
To make a long story short
It’s hard to argue with the adage “Better is the enemy of Good,” as there are a multitude of errors to avoid in a regulatory publication process! But if there’s one conclusion to be drawn from the recommendations above, it’s best to work with a Disclosure Management solution like Pomdoc DM, in order to reduce errors and gain efficiency.
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