For example, Internet users will soon be able to easily download Internet data into spreadsheet and word processing applications. The Internet of the future will probably be able to analyze the solvency or profitability of a corporation by making a few keystrokes or mouse clicks. Most financial information currently contained on the Internet simply duplicates the hard copy or portions of the hard copy in hypertext form. Because many corporations utilize their web sites primarily for other purposes, such as product promotion or customer service, financial information may be difficult to locate. On the home page of a corporation, the annual report and quarterly financial data is usually located under topics such as Corporate Overview, Stockholder Information, or Financial Information.
Some corporations provide links to other web sites that provide additional information to the user.
Internet disclosures would not be useful if they did not provide some advantages over a hard copy annual report. Clearly, one advantage is the reduced production and distribution costs associated with hard copy annual reports. The Internet is powerful because of its ability to provide specific information quickly. Presentation on the Internet will certainly reduce incidental requests from nonstockholder financial statement users. If a financial statement user needs a limited amount of data from an annual report, it may be more practical to obtain that data from the Internet rather than request a hard copy from the corporation.