A financial company can publish its financial reports on its website without a developer, provided the section is set up properly once. After that, an employee uploads the file, chooses the year, period and document type, and the report appears in the right place by itself. No emails to the programmer and no waiting until they find the time.
Below we look at what such a section usually contains, how to organise the documents, who uploads them and what to do with old versions. Which documents your company has to disclose, and by when, is for your lawyer and accountant to decide. This article is about how to present what they have prepared in a convenient way.
Why a financial company publishes reports on its website, and what usually goes there
The reports section is opened by clients before they sign a contract, by partners and suppliers before a deal, and by banks and investors before negotiations. A tidy, up-to-date section shows them that the company is transparent and keeps its affairs in order. A section where the last file was uploaded long ago raises questions, even if everything at the company is fine.
For a client of a leasing company or a microfinance organisation, it's one of the checks they make before applying; we covered the others in the article on what clients check on a leasing company's website.
What goes into the section depends on the company, but most often it contains:
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Annual and interim financial reports. In the form the accounts department prepares them.
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Auditor's reports. If the company is audited.
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Company information. Registration details, management, structure.
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Materials for partners and investors. Presentations and ratings, if you have them.
All you need from the website is one thing: any of these documents should be as easy to publish as a news item.
Structure: years, periods and clear titles
Someone who opens the section is looking for a specific document, for example last year's annual report. They should be able to find it in a couple of clicks.
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Year first, then period. Tabs or a filter by year, and within each year the annual report and the quarterly reports. The newest documents at the top.
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Clear titles. Not "report_final_v2.pdf" but "Financial statements for 2025". The employee types the title when uploading, and the file name has no effect on it.
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Format and size next to the link. "PDF, 2 MB": someone on a phone knows in advance what they're about to open.
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Publication date. Visitors can see when the document appeared on the website.
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Language. If the website is in Russian, Uzbek and English, note which language each document is in, or upload a version for each.
If there are many documents, add a filter by type above the list: financial reports, auditor's reports, company information. Partners who are vetting the company will also appreciate a "Download all documents for the year" button that bundles everything into a single archive.
Who uploads and how: the admin panel and access rights
Without a convenient admin panel, publishing looks like this: the accounts department closes the quarter, the report is ready, the file goes to the programmer, and it appears on the website whenever they get round to it.
With a properly built admin panel, the reports section has its own form. The employee chooses the document type, year and period, types a title and attaches the file. Once saved, the document appears on the website under the right tab and in its place in the list, with no page editing and no knowledge of HTML.
To make sure nothing gets onto the website that shouldn't, set up permissions:
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Different roles. The accountant uploads a document, and a senior manager or the lawyer publishes it after checking. Until it's published, only staff can see it.
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Activity history. You can see who uploaded, changed or took down a document, and when.
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Separate access. The person who publishes news doesn't necessarily need access to the financial reports.
The same principle works for anything on a financial company's website that changes often, such as the rates in the calculator on your website.
Making files open on a phone and show up in search
Many people open reports on their phones, between meetings or from a link in a messenger. So:
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A text PDF, not a scan. A scan is an image: you can't search the text in it, and on a phone you have to zoom in to read it. A PDF saved from the program the report was prepared in is both readable and searchable.
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A reasonable size. A heavy file takes a long time to open on mobile data. Compress files without making them harder to read.
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Viewing in the browser. The document opens straight away, without having to be downloaded.
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A link to each document. A manager can send a client a Telegram link that goes straight to the right report, with no searching through the whole section.
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Text on the section page. A few lines about what's here help search engines understand the page, and help people find it with a search like "financial reports" plus the company name.
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Search within the section. Once there are many documents, a search by title will come in handy.
What to do with old versions
Don't delete old reports: partners may have linked to them, and a history going back several years speaks in the company's favour. Move them to an archive, by year. To keep the archive out of the way, show the recent years by default and the earlier ones behind an "Archive" button.
If a published report has been corrected, upload the new version marked "revised", with the date. Don't silently replace the previous one: mark it as superseded or move it to the archive, and agree exactly how with your lawyer.
Make sure every document has a permanent address: a link that a partner saved some time ago should still open today. If the website moves or its structure changes, the old report addresses must redirect to the new ones; otherwise the links in partners' emails and presentations will stop working.
Checklist
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A document can be published without a programmer. Check who in the company knows how to do it and how many steps it takes.
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Documents are organised by year and period. The newest at the top.
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Every file has a clear title. With the format, size and publication date next to it.
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Only authorised staff can publish. And there's a history of changes.
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The files are text PDFs. Open any report on a phone and try searching for a word in it.
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Old reports are in the archive, and the links to them work. Check the link to the report from the year before last.
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The latest published document is current. The section doesn't look abandoned.
If you want your reports section to be updated without emails to a programmer, take a look at what we do for leasing and financial companies and get in touch. We'll go through the documents you publish and suggest a structure for the section and its access rights.