The communication process between publicly‐listed companies and their constituents continues to change, often stimulated by the concern of regulators to make markets more efficient. The paper examines six areas where development is occurring within the North American reporting environment: summary reporting, management discussion and analysis, risk and uncertainty, interim reporting, continuous information disclosure, and financial statement reporting. The paper also identifies areas where significant reporting frustrations remain. These areas may signal the direction of financial reporting research and change that will be experienced outside of the North American environment during the next decad