Reports

What are reports?

Why study business report writing?

A broader definition:

Reports are almost any presentation of information, ranging from the extremely formal to the highly informal.

A narrower definition:

A business report is an orderly and objective communication of factual information that serves some business purpose.

Classification criteria:

1. Subject matter

2. Time interval

3. Function

4. Formality

5. Physical factors

6. Writer-reader relationship

7. Status of authorship

8. Miscellaneous

1. Subject matter

- limitless possibilities

- e.g. in the field of accounting:

cost

audit

tax

finance

- e.g. broad subject fields:

accounting

management

economics

finance

engineering

marketing

2. Time interval

- periodic reports – written regularly (daily, weekly, monthly, annually)

- special reports – prepared for a special assignment that is not likely to be repeated with any degree of regularity

3. Function

- Informational reports

- is little more than a bare presentation of facts on the subject;

- contains no attempt at analysis;

- any decision or interpretation that comes from the data presented must be drawn by the reader himself.

- Examination reports

- carries the problem one step further than does the informational report;

- the writer analyzes and interprets the data;

- no conclusions or recommendations

- Analytical reports

- presents and analyzes data;

- draws conclusions from the data;

- it may even arrive at recommendations.

4. Formality

- Formal reports – all those reports that are dressed up physically and are appropriately worded to fit the requirements of a formal occasion.

- Informal reports – all reports with the makeup and wording requirements of an informal occasion.

5. Physical factors

- Memorandum report:

a. concerns a routine matter that must be transmitted within an organisation;

b. is written on specially prepared forms.

- Letter report:

a. has all the physical properties of a typical business letter;

b. is classified as report because of the nature of its content.

- Short report:

a. topics that are of medium or moderate length;

b. have no great need for formal presentation.

- Long report:

a. presents relatively large problems;

b. formal presentation;

c. its contents are carefully organised and marked with captions;

d. may require supplementary parts as an appendix, bibliography, or index.

6.Write-reader relationship

- Administrative report – officially written within a business organisation to facilitate operations.

- Professional report – is submitted to an organisation by outside specialists.

- Independent report – are frequently written by non-profit research organizations, which write up and publish the results of a project for a public review.