Integrated reporting is moving beyond the annual PDF to become a digital stakeholder engagement experience.
The integrated report has traditionally been viewed as a once-a-year document — produced, published and distributed to a defined audience. But the way stakeholders consume information has changed.
Investors, analysts, employees and regulators increasingly expect information to be accessible, easy to navigate and engaging across digital channels. At the same time, search, data and AI technologies are changing how information is discovered and interpreted.
This creates an opportunity to rethink the role of the integrated report. Not simply as a document, but as a digital experience.
At Ince, we are helping organisations make that shift. Two recent projects — CA&S Group and Cotlands — demonstrate what this can look like.
In 2025, CA&S Group launched its first digital Integrated Report alongside its traditional PDF report. The objective was not simply to put the report online. It was to create a more intuitive and engaging environment for stakeholders to explore the group's information.
Explore the CA&S Group Integrated Report →The result is a report that can be explored rather than simply read.
Unlike a static PDF, an online report can provide insight into how stakeholders interact with the content. Organisations can understand which sections attract attention, how users navigate the report, what content generates engagement and how audiences access the information.
A live interactive dashboard created a measurable engagement report with audience intelligence beyond simple user analytics.
Cotlands took a different approach. In 2025, it became the first NPO organisation to produce a fully digital online integrated report, creating a pioneering example within the non-profit sector.
Explore the Cotlands Integrated Report →The digital format allowed Cotlands to bring together reporting, storytelling, data and multimedia in a way that made its information more accessible and engaging. The report uses:
The inclusion of video and multimedia added a personal dimension that is difficult to achieve in a traditional PDF. A PDF can present information. Digital reporting can create an experience around it.
The digital report was recognised by judges at the CGISA JSE Integrated Reporting Awards, who highlighted its innovative format, accessibility, readability, authentic storytelling, visual appeal and transparency.
CA&S Group and Cotlands have taken different approaches to digital reporting.
Demonstrates how digital reporting can enhance investor communication, improve accessibility and create opportunities for audience analytics.
Demonstrates how digital reporting can transform storytelling, combining information and multimedia to create a more human stakeholder experience.
But both point to the same conclusion: the digital report should not simply be a PDF placed online. It should be designed for the digital environment from the outset.
Traditional reporting follows a simple model. Digital reporting creates a new opportunity — one that doesn't end at distribution.
The integrated report can become part of an ongoing stakeholder communication ecosystem — one that is more accessible, measurable and adaptable. And as search, structured data and AI continue to change how information is discovered, the way organisations structure and publish their information becomes increasingly important.
Digital reporting isn't simply about changing the format of the annual report. It is about changing what the annual report can do.
The future of reporting is connected, interactive and increasingly intelligent. And this evolution is only beginning.
If you're weighing up what a digital-first integrated report could look like for your organisation, our team can talk you through the options — from investor-focused dashboards to fully human, story-led experiences.
