How to Produce an Annual Corporate Report
Corporations are separate legal entities. Their purpose is to help shield their owners from creditor claims against the corporation, limiting their liability to the equity they have invested in the company. However, in order to maintain the limited liability privileges, corporations must file annual reports with the states in which they are registered. Failure to do so can result in fines, the forfeiture of limited liability protection and even the dissolution of the company. If you have a corporation, you must keep up with the formalities of owning and running a corporation, which include filing an annual report by each year's deadline, keeping minutes of shareholders' meetings, and generally running the business as a separate entity.
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Instructions
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Find the address of your state's office of corporate services. These are nearly always agencies within the state Office of the Secretary of State, though there are exceptions, such as in Michigan. You can find a link to your state's office of the Secretary of State through the National Association of Secretaries of State.
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Find the corporate services department on your Secretary of State's Website. Occasionally you will see them listed under a link titled "business services," or "new businesses." You will be looking in the same general area on the Web site that you used to file articles of incorporation when you first formed the company.
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Search for common forms. You'll find annual reports in the same general area with articles of incorporation, articles of dissolution, amended articles and other similar business filings. Each state has its own requirements for annual reports, but they generally require the corporation, at a minimum, to declare its current principal address and the name and contact information for corporate officers.
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Download the appropriate annual report form or format for your state, and prepare a document listing all required information. Note the deadline your state imposes for receiving annual reports and be sure to forward your annual report by that due date to avoid fines and penalties. 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporations may have different, specific reporting requirements. Note that you will probably be required to submit a filing fee along with the report, which will vary by your state and the size of your company.
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File a 10K report with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You must do so if you are filing on behalf of a stock issuing company registered with the SEC as a security. The breadth and scope of annual reports vary, but 10K reports typically include opening remarks from management, an overview of financials, an assessment of operations, information about market opportunities and threats, and an overview of R&D activities. You must have them audited by an independent accounting firm.
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Tips & Warnings
You can save money by consolidating changes of agents and reports of changes in business address and other contact information in your annual report, rather than filing a series of separate amendments and paying filing fees on each one.
