Companies' annual reports can hide as much as they reveal

Investors can get early warning signals of wrongdoing by frequently speaking to other stakeholders

Recently, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) announced that it would henceforth carry out a selective review of annual reports of companies for disclosure-related lapses. Experts see this as a positive step, which will put an added pressure on companies to disclose all significant information to shareholders. While Sebi does its bit, fundamental investors who typically invest in a stock for the long term need to be aware of the shenanigans companies indulge in, such as not revealing material information, burying such data deep where it is difficult to find (say, in the notes to accounts), indulging in