• Conciseness
• Stakeholder relationships

Key observations:

British American Tobacco provides a transparent and detailed disclosure of the company’s Board effectiveness.  Beginning with some general statistics about Board composition and tenure, the report then discusses the Board’s own internal review of its effectiveness (pages 55-57). The Group introduces the process for undertaking the evaluation before providing additional insight into the key findings. Using a tabular format, the findings are summarized, detailing the progress made during the year as well as action plans for future activities which will be undertaken in 2015.

The discussion of governance also highlights the Board’s commitment to engagement with shareholders.  Examples of directors meeting with shareholders, potential investors and analysts are mentioned, as well as reference to formal investor meetings which take place every two years with the Management Board in attendance.  The key topics that have been raised by shareholders are also disclosed, providing an additional layer of accountability.

The principle of conciseness is underscored by the use of cross-references guiding the reader to more detailed information on related topics elsewhere in the Annual Report.