REPORTS

INTRODUCTION
Business reports are a type of assignment in which you analyse a situation (either a real situation or a case study) and apply business theories to produce a range of suggestions for improvement. Business reports are typically assigned to enable you to: Examine available and potential solutions to a problem, situation, or issue. Apply business and management theory to a practical situation. Demonstrate your analytical, reasoning, and evaluation skills in identifying and weighing-up possible solutions and outcomes.

Reach conclusions about a problem or issue. Provide recommendations for future action. Show concise and clear communication skills. Remember that with business reports, typically, there is no single correct answer but several solutions, each with their own costs and benefits to an organisation. It is these costs and benefits which you need to identify and weigh-up in your report. Further, when writing the report, you need to consider the audience you are writing for: is it the CEO or will the report be available to all staff concerned? It is vital that you ensure an appropriate level of formality, sensitivity, fairness, and objectivity.

What is Report Understand Meaning of Report Report is a self-explanatory statement of facts relating to a specific subject and serves the purpose of providing information for decision making and follow up actions. It is a systematic presentations of ascertained facts about a specific event / subject. Report is a summary of findings and recommendations about a particular matter / problem. Report is for the guidance of higher authorities including company executives and directors. Report facilitates timely decisions and follow up measures.

What are Features or Characteristics of Report 1. Complete and Compact Document : Report is a complete and compact written document giving updated information about a specific problem. 2. Systematic Presentation of Facts : Report is a systematic presentation of facts, figures, conclusions and recommendations. Report writers closely study the problem under investigation and prepare a report after analyzing all relevant information regarding the problem. Report is supported by facts and evidence. There is no scope for imagination in a report which is basically a factual document. 3. Prepared in Writing : Reports are usually in writing. Writing reports are useful for reference purpose. It serves as complete, compact and self-explanatory document over a long period. Oral reporting is possible in the case of secret and confidential matters. 4. Provides Information and Guidance : Report is a valuable document which gives information and guidance to the management while framing future policies. It facilitates planning and decision making. Reports are also useful for solving problems faced by a business enterprise. 5. Self-explanatory Document : Report is a comprehensive document and covers all aspects of the subject matter of study. It is a self-explanatory and complete document by itself. 6. Acts as a Tool of Internal Communication : Report is an effective tool of communication between top executives and subordinate staff working in an organization. It provides feedback to employees and to executives for decision making. Reports are generally submitted to higher authorities. It is an example of upward communication. Similarly, reports are also sent by company executives to the lower levels of management. This is treated as downward communication. In addition, reports are also sent to shareholders and others connected with the company. It may be pointed out that report writing / preparation acts as a backbone of any system of communication. 7. Acts as Permanent Record : A report serves as a permanent record relating to certain business matter. It is useful for future reference and guidance. 8. Time Consuming and Costly Activity : Report writing is a time consuming, lengthy and costly activity as it involves collection of facts, drawing conclusion and making recommendations.

PROCEDURE FOR WRITING EFFECTIVE BUSINESS REPORTS

The Ten guidelines for writing effective business reports are as follows 1.Style To be completely successful, a report which makes recommendations must ensure that the persons for whom the report is intended: Read it without unnecessary delay. Understand everything in it without undue effort. Accept the facts, findings, conclusions and recommendations. Decide to take the action recommended. Achieving this demands more of you than merely presenting relevant facts accurately. It also demands that you communicate in a way that is both acceptable and intelligible to the readers. 2.Selectivity Careful choice of words can enable you to convey many subtleties of meaning. 3.Accuracy Check that everything you write is factually accurate. The facts should be capable of being verified. Moreover, arguments should be soundly based and your reasoning should be logical. You should not write anything that will misinform, mislead or unfairly persuade your readers. If you do, you will be doing a disservice not only to yourself but also to your department and organisation. Accurate information is essential for effective communication and decision making. 4. Objectivity A report should not be an essay reflecting personal emotions and opinions. You must look at all sides of a problem with an open mind before stating your conclusions. Making it clear that you have an open mind when writing your report will, in most cases, make your conclusions and recommendations more acceptable to your readers. The emphasis, therefore, should be on the factual material presented and the conclusions drawn, rather than on any personal beliefs, biases or prejudices.

5. Conciseness(clarity) Veni, Vidi, Vici (I came, I saw, I conquered). That is how Julius Caesar reported his visit to our shores. While none of your reports will be as short as this, you should aim to keep them concise. In doing this, do not mistake brevity for conciseness. A report may be brief because it omits important information. A concise report, on the other hand, is short but still contains all the essential details. To ensure you do not include material which can safely be left out, you should not ask: 'Can this information be included?' Rather, you should ask: 'Is it necessary for this information to be included?' 6. Clarity and Consistency The best way to achieve clarity in your writing is to allow some time to elapse between the first draft and its revision. Try to leave it over the weekend, or at least overnight. If you are really under pressure and this is simply not possible, at least leave it over a lunch or coffee break. It is essential to have a period of time, no matter how short, when you can think of other things. In this way, when you come back to the report, you can look at it with a degree of objectivity. 7. Simplicity Usually, if your writing is selective, accurate, objective, concise, clear and consistent, it will also be as simple as it can be. You should guard against over-simplifying, for example to the point of missing out information which the reader needs to fully understand what you are trying to say. You should again keep your readers firmly in mind and keep asking yourself whether or not they will be able to follow the logic of your presentation. 8. Avoid Pointless Words Some words and phrases - like basically, actually, undoubtedly, each and every one and during the course of our investigation - keep cropping up in reports. Yet they add nothing to the message and often can be removed without changing the meaning or the tone. Try leaving them out of your writing. You will find your sentences survive, succeed and may even flourish without them.

TYPES OF REPORT Business reports are like bridges spanning time and .The term report covers a variety of documents ranging from pre-printed formarts to brief , informal letters and memos to formal manuscript. There are Formal and Informal Reports. INFORMAL REPORTS In business informal reports are used much more frequently than the formal report.There are many types of informal reports. Periodic or Routine Reports contains mere statement of facts, in detail or in summarised form, without an opinion or recommendation . These reports are submitted at regular , prescribed interval. Here the managers are regularly updated Progress or Status Reports Here the status of a particular project are informed ie how much work is done , what is done currently how much work is scheduled for the next reporting period. The frequency of the report will depend on the type or nature of the project being discussed. A progress report that flows upward Within the organisation assists managers in monitoring and making project, one that flows downward or horizontally keeps concerned persons informed. Laboratory Reports generally use a standard scientific report describing methods, results and conclusion to reports upon an empirical investigation. FORMAL REPORTS It is prescribed form and presented according to an established procedure. Formal reports are of two types a)Statutory Reports b) Non-statutory Reports a)Statutory reports : when the report is to be presented as per the statute/law is known as statutory report. b)Non-statutory reports i) Report of Directors to the shareholders : the directors submit a report to the shareholders at the Annual General Meeting . This report is called Director Reports.If the company has undertaken special projects or there are special problem the Director give non-statutory reports to their shareholder.eg. reports on diversification of

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iii) iv)

production report of collaboration with another company etc. Report of Directors: The Board of Directors usually appoint standing committee of 2 or 3 directors to help the board

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Reports of special committees of Directors :to report on matters of special or current importance. Report of Individual Officers: The executives in charge of various departments (production, sales, accounts ,personnel etc submit periodical report to the board. Financial Report: such reports are prepared by the head of the finance department or controller of finance and submitted to the Board of Directors. Reports of the company Secretary: The principal officer of a limited company is the secretary . He submits reports on a)Accommodation for the main and branch offices b)complaints from branch offices. c)suspected irregularities etc. d)proposed improvements in the working conditions,worker welfare. and amenities etc. Reports on meeting: The secretary prepares reports on the proceedings of meeting for the members, filing section publication

Importance of Business Report Format A business report is not an example of creative writing which a reader should go through word by word. It is mainly about statistics and specific information. Moreover, people who read such reports are busy personnel of high rank. They do not have time to go through each and every word. They look for particular information and if an organization follows a specific format for such reports, such personnel know exactly which part of the report to look, for specific information. This saves them a lot of time. Secondly, following a standard format also allows one to organize his report effectively and logically. This is specially useful in case the report has a lot of data. Also, one won't forget to cover information on particular area, if one refers to a sample business report. Hence, knowing how to write one is very important in the business world.

When writing the format, first write the body of the report and then fill in the details. Make sure you use a font which is clear to read and commonly used like Arial or Times News Roman. Also, make sure you use bold, italics and underline to make the header and sub-heads stand out. Take care to use enough white spaces, at important places to make your data stand out clearly. Format for a Business Report There are few standard rules for writing business reports that dictate what information should come in which section of the report. This format is followed in most of the business report examples, that one may refer to. The most widely used format consists of the following standard sections: Title Section: In a short report, this could be the first page bearing the title of the report, author name and date. The reason of making such a report could also be included in this section, so that the reader can establish an instant connection with the information in subsequent sections. In case of long reports, include the Table of Contents, Terms of References and so on. Summary: As the name suggests, this is the summary of the whole report. Then why include it in the beginning of the report itself? It is because this is the section that most of the senior personnel, who do not have enough time to go through the whole report, will read through. Hence, give a very clear and precise information about the problem/aspect of business that the report is analyzing. Also, include the main points, conclusions, recommendations and important results. Although, this section contains a lot of information, ensure that it is a small one. Treat the summary as a separate report and use bullets and numbered lists to highlight important points. Methodology: List the methodologies used in your research, like if you interviewed focus groups or consulted research firms. Also, give the reason why you resorted to using a particular methodology.

Introduction: This is the first part of a proper report. Use this section to provide the background of the report. Highlight the reasons why the report is important for the readers. Include information about what is covered in the main body and the order in which the details are covered in the report. In case, the Terms of Reference has not been mentioned in the Title Section, Introduction is the section to include it. Main Body: This is the heart of the report. Arrange all the information in order of priority, so that this section follows a logical sequence. Divide this section further into subsections. Lend greater order to the Main Body using sub-titles within each subsection. A paragraph about the relevance of the findings of the report can also be included in this section. Data Tabulation: Another important factor when writing format of business report is data tabulation. Presenting your data in lists or tables can help in readily understanding the report. Also, data tabulation or listing, makes the report look professional and neat. So, accompany necessary lists or tables in your report whenever required. Make sure you use neutral colors to make tables and keep the list and tables looking neat and crisp. Conclusion: Present logical conclusions for the topic investigated in the report. One can also suggest an option for the way forward. In case, discussion has not been included in the Main Body, include it in the conclusion. Otherwise keep this section small. Recommendations: Since you have worked on the report, no one would have a better understanding of the topic than you. There may be a few solutions or actions that you think would be effective in dealing with the problem, investigated in the report. Include those solutions in this section. List them in bullets and numbered lists for easier comprehension. Appendix: Although very few people read the Appendix, the information in this section gives support to the arguments used in the report. It is the Appendix where the author includes all the sources and research information, in detail.

Although it is not about creative writing, good writing skills are important in business information reports, as one needs to give comprehensive information using precise words. It is advisable to keep the language simple and lucid in a business report, specially in the Summary and the Recommendations, as these are the sections most commonly read by senior level managers. However, some technical jargon can be used in the Main Body, as this is the section that is mostly read by experts. In the world of business, time is money. Following a standard business report format is what senior level managers and busy businessmen look for, as it reflects what they value the most, that is effective utilization of time. Writing Reports - Template Structure Typical structure template for writing a report: Title, author, date. Contents. Introduction and Terms of Reference (or aims/scope for report). Executive Summary (1-2 pages maximum) containing main points of evidence, recommendations and outcomes. Background/history/situation. Implications/issues/opportunities/threats , with source-referenced facts and figures evidence. Solution/action/decision options with implications/effects/results, including financials and parameters inputs and outputs. Recommendations and actions with input and outcomes values and costs, and if necessary return on investment. Appendices. Optional Bibliography and Acknowledgements. Map out your structure before you begin researching and writing your report.

Ensure the purpose, aims and scope of the report are clearly explained in your terms of reference. The executive summary should be be very concise, summarising the main recommendations and findings. Provide interpretation of situations and options. Show the important hard facts and figures. Your recommendations should include implications, with values and costs where applicable. Unless yours is a highly complex study, limit the executive summary to less than two sides of standard business paper. The body of the report should be divided into logical sections. The content must be very concise. Use hard facts and figures, evidence and justification. Use efficient language - big reports with too many words are not impressive. The best reports are simple and quick to read because the writer has properly interpreted the data and developed viable recommendations. Do not cram lots of detail, diagrams, figures, evidence, references etc., into the main body of the report. Index and attach these references as appendices at the end of the report. Where you state figures or evidence you must always identify the source. Show figures in columns. Try to support important figures with a graph. If it's appropriate to acknowledge contributors then do so in the introduction or a separate section at the end.