Despite variations in corporate reporting, a clear distinction exists between the presentation of non-obligatory company information in German and U.S. annual reports. The recent consolidation in the banking industry makes the annual reports of the four largest German and U.S. banks particularly relevant for examining culturally-dependent corporate communication styles. This study employs both qualitative and quantitative analyses to explore the interplay of communicative elements on the printed page. It investigates how people are represented in the voluntary sections of these reports and examines the relationship between these representations and the text, as well as the implicit assumptions in the document's construction. Drawing on the study's findings and previous research on cultural style, key principles underlying the print communication styles of Germany and the U.S. are outlined, along with historical explanations for their cultural origins. Additionally, the discussion includes the potential shift of the German cultural style toward a more Anglo-Saxon approach to information representation during 1997-2007, considering the influences of social, cultural, and communicative systems.
