A Readability Evolution of Narratives in Annual Reports

Alonso Moreno Universidad de Jaén ; Araceli Casasola Universidad Pablo de Olavide

Abstract

Previous research on the readability of annual reports is based mainly on English narratives and has found them difficult to read. Although the results of such research cannot be generalized to different contexts, accounting narratives written in non-English languages have seldom been analyzed in this respect. More important, few studies have longitudinally examined the evolution in readability of such narratives. This study focuses on the readability evolution of annual report narratives written in Spanish, applying an adapted version of the Flesch readability formula to two sets of documents from different companies over most of the years of the 20th century. The results confirm that the reports are indeed difficult to read but show an improvement in readability over the years. The study tested several variables that might influence readability, including profitability.

Journal
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published
2016-04-01
DOI
10.1177/1050651915620233
Open Access
Closed

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (2)

  1. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. Journal of Business and Technical Communication

Cites in this index (3)

  1. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  3. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
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