Importance of business reports.

Preparing great reports and proposals is extremely important in the business world.  They are used to inform investors, employees, potential business partners, and others about your company’s goals, performance, etc.  Moreover, being able to write these documents successfully will make you more valuable to a company and hence more likely to be promoted.

After you have planned and wrote your message, it is time to complete it.  I have talked about the revision process in a previous post (Wait, you’re not finished).  However, the completion stage for reports and proposals requires considerable more work.

As you may remember, the revision process consists of four steps: revising, producing, proofreading, and distributing.  Since I’ve covered these extensively already, I will focus on the ‘producing’ step of creating reports, which includes some things that haven’t been mentioned.

Components of a Formal Report

The parts you include in a report depend on a many things: how long the report is, what your audience expects and requires, and what your organization dictates.  These components can be divided into three categories: prefatory, text, and supplementary parts. 

Prefatory Parts

Cover

Many companies have standard covers for reports which are made of heavy paper and display the company’s name and logo.  If your company doesn’t have these, you can find something suitable in a good stationery store.  Look for a cover that is attractive and appropriate for the subject matter.  Think about the title carefully; give the readers all the information they need.

Title Fly and title Page

The title fly is a single sheet of paper with only the title of the report on it.  It is not necessary; however, it adds some formality to your report.  The title page includes four pieces of information: (1) the title of the report; (2) the name, title, and address of the person(s), group or organization that authorized the report (if anyone); (3) the name, title, and address of the person(s), group, or organization that prepared the report; and (4) the date on which the report was submitted.

Letter of Authorization and Letter of Acceptance

The letter of authorization is the document in which you receive authorization to prepare the report.  It is something you may consider to include in your report.  If you wrote a letter in response to said document, you may also include that as the letter of acceptance.  In general, these are included in only the most formal reports.

Letter of Transmittal

This is basically where you introduce your report to your audience.  It says what you’d say if you were handing the report to the person who authorized its creation.  It typically starts with, “Here is the report you asked me to prepare on…” 

Table of Contents

This indicates in outline form the coverage, sequence, and relative importance of the information in the report.  Be sure your table is complete and accurate.

List of Illustrations

If you have many illustrations or wish to call attention to them, you can include a list of illustrations after the table of contents.   Be sure to include titles and page numbers.

Synopsis or Executive Summary

A synopsis is a brief overview of your report’s most important points.  It should be designed to give readers a quick preview of the contents.  The phrasing of the synopsis can be informative or descriptive.  Use the former to present main points of the report in the order in which they appear in the text.  A descriptive report, on the other hand, simply tells what the report is about. 

An executive summary is in essence a condensed form of the report itself.  It is designed for those who do not have the time or motivation to study the complete text.

Text and Supplementary Parts

The text consists of all of your information you have gathered and the conclusions you have reached.  It is the most important part of your report and will consist of an introduction, body, and close.  Supplementary parts include an appendix, bibliography, and an index. 

A More Effective Report

Using some of the elements discussed above can help your report look more professional and convey a more effective message.  The importance of this medium cannot be understated, as many times, this is the medium used to share critical performance information with investors.  

Flawed reports can cost a company millions, as was the case for Goldman Sachs. [1]  Although the report is ineffective because of ethical purposes, it still illustrates the importance of them and the impact they can have on a company.

[1] http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9503E2DC143CF932A25752C0A9679D8B63&ref=accountingandaccountants

By Luis Hernandez