Corporate Reporting Conference 2026 – Ideas to Impact: A Recap

DAX 40/MDAX 2026 Trend Monitor: a dual perspective for the first time

As in previous years, the CRC opened in fitting style with a review of the reporting by the largest DAX companies. In its 15th year, the 50 MDAX companies were also analysed for the first time. Philipp Mann, Amelie Mißner and Jannis Benezeder (all from RYZE Digital) presented the findings in a 30-minute presentation. The key findings:

 

The figures show a reporting market clearly on the move: 67 per cent of DAX 40 companies offer an online annual report, compared with 34 per cent in the MDAX. The picture is also shifting in terms of format: 46 per cent of DAX 40 reports are published in landscape format, whilst a further 28 per cent combine portrait and landscape formats. There is significant room for improvement in terms of AI visibility: only half of the DAX 40 online reports contain structured data; AI citations remain the exception.

The four key points: PDFs remain a must, but the future lies in digital. Full-HTML is developing at a mixed pace; user guidance is becoming a hallmark of quality. AI is part experiment, part reality. And GEO is changing the rules of visibility.

 

All the figures, charts and best-case scenarios in detail:
Download the DAX 40 / MDAX 2026 Trend Monitor now

AI assistants in corporate reporting

In the subsequent keynote presentation, Jannis Benezeder, Senior Sustainability Consultant at RYZE Digital, demonstrated that AI assistants have long since moved beyond the ‘it might be worth a try’ stage. Using specific use cases for research, text checking, tabular analyses and fine-tuning of typography, he highlighted where these assistants are already providing productive support today. The solutions are being implemented in partnership with Nuwacom, a German provider with hosting in Europe – a factor that immediately addresses many data protection concerns. 

 

What was on offer from the session: joint workshops in which use cases are identified and initial prototypes are built.

Best Case: Henkel’s Sustainable Impact Report

Marion Fahrland, Sustainability Manager for Reporting & Content Creation at Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, provided an insight into how this works in practice. She explained why Henkel has published its own report in addition to the CSRD report: The CSRD report is standardised and formalised and, in her view, is no longer sufficiently reader-friendly for many stakeholders. Added to this are requirements arising from ratings and rankings, as well as a sustainability strategy that goes beyond the materiality analysis.

 

Key takeaway: Anyone wishing to promote strategic sustainability beyond the CSRD needs their own narrative platform – one that is stakeholder-focused, visually appealing and clearly structured in terms of content.

The online annual report is now being produced in real time

Matthias Frescha, Managing Director of Tech at RYZE Digital, addressed a classic challenge in the world of reporting: the final sprint that takes its toll on nerves, sleepless nights and profit margins. He demonstrated how RYZE, as an early adopter of a brand-new Workiva interface, is rethinking this very last-minute rush: instead of manual steps, there is now a stable connection between the disclosure management system and the online report at the touch of a button – taking minutes rather than hours, and without sensitive data ever leaving the secure system environment.

 

Key takeaway: If you do not provide your figures as a structured primary source, you leave the interpretation up to others.

Panel discussion: AI – between potential and practice

In the subsequent panel discussion, Thomas Mack (External Reporting, Mercedes-Benz Group AG), Christian Knoll (Senior IR Manager, DHL Group), Stephan Schmidt (specialist solicitor in IT law, TCI Rechtsanwälte) and Jannis Benezeder (RYZE Digital), moderated by Philipp Mann, spent 45 minutes discussing a key question: Is AI still in the experimental phase, or is it already being used productively? The answer: both.

 

At Mercedes-Benz, Thomas Mack is using the first AI features for reporting in Workiva. At DHL, Christian Knoll has already integrated the AI chatbot into the online report and the IR section, and sees AI as a natural part of the front end by 2030. Stephan Schmidt provided a legal perspective: AI is on its way, but in the reporting environment, a legally sound framework is needed before widespread experimentation can take place. Jannis Benezeder put the topic into context from RYZE’s perspective: the defined areas in which AI assistants are already reliably delivering added value are rapidly increasing.

 

The bottom line: Experimentation – yes, but first ensure legal compliance, start small and be specific.

GEO and digital visibility in reporting

Marc Lambauer, Head of Digital Marketing at RYZE Digital, brought the session to a close with a topic that nobody had on their agenda just two years ago: Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO). Investors, analysts and journalists are increasingly turning to ChatGPT, Perplexity or Gemini before opening Google. Anyone who isn’t visible in the LLMs as a credible primary source leaves it to others to comment on their own figures. GEO is becoming the new standard – including opportunities for tracking and benchmarking against competitors.

 

What the session offers: Those interested can request a free GEO check.

Conclusion: Reporting in a state of flux – between mandatory requirements, voluntary initiatives and artificial intelligence

The Corporate Reporting Conference 2026 has made one thing abundantly clear: the corporate reporting sector remains in a state of rapid flux. Whilst regulatory requirements such as the CSRD place significant operational demands on companies and force them to adopt new publication channels, technological innovations are simultaneously opening up entirely new possibilities.

 

The day’s key insights can be summarised in three core messages:

• Digitalisation is irreversible: whilst the PDF will remain as a mandatory regulatory document, the real action in communication is taking place in the digital realm. Anyone wishing to reach their stakeholders – whether human or machine – in the best possible way must rely on intelligent, connected and accessible online formats.
• AI has become part of everyday practice: whether as a smart proofreading and translation assistant working in the background or as an interactive feature on the front end – artificial intelligence is no longer merely a field of experimentation, but a genuine driver of efficiency in the content creation process.
• Understanding the ‘machine’ as a target audience: With the advent of GEO, reports today must be structured in such a way that they can be read accurately by AI search engines and large language models (LLMs) and cited as a trustworthy source.

 

Ultimately, the new technologies do not relieve us of responsibility for the content, but they do free us from monotonous, repetitive tasks. As a result, reporting teams regain precisely what is often neglected in day-to-day regulatory work: the time and energy to craft a strong, compelling corporate narrative.