What is a business report?

Business reports are a type of assignment in which you analyze 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 organization. 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.

Business report structure

Business reports typically adopt the sections listed below. Your assignment question may specify the appropriate sections to use. Introduction: This is the first section of the report and is easiest to write after you have written the other report sections, as then you know what your outcomes will be, which you can briefly summarise in the introduction. The purpose of the introduction is to State the purpose or aim of the report, which may include who has commissioned it, if relevant. Provide background details relevant to the situation, such as a brief overview of historical developments, as well as definitions of any terms that are unlikely to be recognized by the audience. Summarize the problems and recommended solutions. Clarify any limitations, restrictions, and/or assumptions made in undertaking your investigation of the situation, such as restrictions on time, lack of money, limited access to information and people, and/or assumptions made about the organisation because of the lack of information available.

In general, one page is more than adequate to address the issues typically required in an introduction.

Discussion This section is traditionally allocated the most marks, so it is well worth your investment in time to do it thoroughly. The discussion section is generally the only section where you are able to support your analysis and reasoning with theoretical ideas, concepts, and models available within the course. Secondly, it is the only place where you can actually provide evidence to back up your conclusions and recommendations. Therefore, ensure that you draw on evidence from the literature, course materials, as well as your own observations from the actual case or organization, where applicable. A key task of the discussion is for you to be able to identify the problem(s) and then consider a range of possible solutions. Consequently, it may be useful in preparing this section to identify your conclusions and recommendations first, before proceeding to support these outcomes in the discussion. Once you have planned the points you need to cover in your discussion, it is very appropriate to look at creating different sub-sections within the discussion that encompass and frame each of the issues, with meaningful headings for each sub-section. When writing each sub-section within the discussion, the following structure may be useful for demonstrating the process you used to carry out your analysis and evaluation.

Identify the problem Example: The problem involves a lack of coordination at top-level management. Identify the causes Example: This is caused by a lack of organisational skills and a lack of assistance from support people. Identify the symptoms Example: As a result, the department is constantly in a state of flux, with no knowledge of where it should be heading. Identify possible solutions This can be achieved by explaining advantages and disadvantages of a few options, which may involve describing short-term and long-term benefits.

Conclusions This is arranged as a numbered, bulleted-list. Arrange each point in order of importance, rather than necessarily in the order found in your discussion. Match each point in sequence with the list of recommendations. Each point provides a brief summary of one of the problems outlined in detail in the report. Ensure each point links with the report's objectives. Write each conclusion in the present tense. Each point needs to be specific and clear.

Recommendations This is also arranged as a numbered, bulleted-list. Each recommendation should appear in sequence with the order of points in the list of conclusions. Each recommendation should provide a response to each problem identified in the list of conclusions. Each recommendation should be action-oriented, concise, and clear. Each recommendation should also be realistic and feasible within the social, economic, and political climate. Write each recommendation in the future tense, as appropriate.

The order of these sections varies depending on whether it is an inductive or deductive report. Business reports will also need a reference list, and sometimes a covering letter, covering memo, and / or executive summary.

Inductive vs. deductive reports

The order of the report sections will depend on whether you are required to write an inductive or deductive report. Your assignment question should make this clear. Inductive report An inductive report involves moving from the specific issues, as outlined in the discussion, to the more general, summarized information, as displayed in the conclusions and recommendations: Introduction Discussion Conclusions Recommendations Such reports are ideal for an audience who has the time to read the report from cover to cover, and also in instances where the findings may be somewhat controversial, hence, the need to demonstrate your reasoning and evidence, as laid out in the discussion, for the recommendations decided upon. Deductive report In contrast, in a deductive report you move from the general to the specific: Introduction Conclusions Recommendations Discussion This type of order is effective when faced with an audience who does not have time to read the whole document, but can access the conclusions and recommendations. Consequently, such an order is also appropriate for reports which are not contentious or unexpected in their decision outcomes and recommendations.

Business Report Format 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 business report 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. You can find many business report format examples online and use them as a reference, to design a suitable report format.