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This article was co-written by Michael R. Lewis. Michael R. Lewis is a retired Texas executive, entrepreneur and investment advisor. He has over 40 years of experience in Business & Finance, including the position of Vice President of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas. He holds a BBA in Industrial Management from the University of Texas at Austin.
This article has been viewed 15,876 times.
Business reporting is one of today’s most effective means of communicating business performance information. Although they have very broad goals, they are generally used when businesses or individuals need to make important decisions. To write effective business reports, you first need to understand what they are and how to use them.
Steps
Determine the type of report to write
- Let’s say you want to offer a 3D printer for your part. To convince management to approve the purchase of this machine, you need to write an explanatory report/suggestion to formally appeal to management.
- Suppose pharmaceutical company X wants to cooperate with pharmaceutical company Y but there are still some concerns. Company X does not want to do business with a company with current or past financial problems. This company will conduct an investigation and use the investigative report to discuss in depth the financial information of company Y and its directors.
- For example, Nestle needs to show its board of directors that it has followed local law and policy guidelines over the years. As a result, they used the annual compliance report to be transparent about the year’s activities. [1] X Research Source
- Can this project be completed within budget?
- Will this project be profitable?
- Can this project be completed within the allotted timeframe?
- For example, a business might conduct company-wide research on whether or not smoking should be banned in employee lounges. The investigator will prepare an investigative report.
- For example, a pharmaceutical sales rep might tabulate their sales call volume on a monthly basis.
- For example, after a major storm, the governing body will need a situation report.
- Consider a car company ABC wants to open a factory in Asia. Based on what the company needs, the report can narrow the selection down to three countries. Next, it will conclude which is the best factory location among these three countries.
Write a business report
- Regardless of the answer, you need to make sure the goal is short and concise. If the objective is not clear, the report will only confuse the reader and possibly compromise its credibility.
- For example, let’s say you want to get a larger advertising budget for your department. The report should then focus on your current budget and how you can effectively use the larger budget.
- Remember that no matter who your audience is, no conclusion is more convincing than the amount of money it can bring to your company or client.
- Let’s say you want to run a work-sharing program in your department and determine that the audience here is the human resources director, the CEO, and the general manager. Consider their existing interest in this program. The answer will shape the tone of the report. If the company has never considered a similar program, this report will be both strategic and informative. In the opposite case, the report should be less informative and more persuasive.
- The data can be inside information – that is, you can collect it quickly. For example, you can get sales figures from the sales department with just one call. In other words, you can get data and turn it into reports quickly.
- External data can also be stored internally. If a department has ever collected customer analytics data, ask for it. You don’t need to do that investigation yourself. Although it is not the same across different types of businesses, it is often the case that the writer of a business report does not need to conduct a direct investigation.
- Let’s say you are writing an explanatory/proposal report. You then have to research the full benefits of your proposal and incorporate that research into your report.
- Break down related data into separate pieces. Business reports can’t be cluttered with loads of data and information. Organizing data into separate sections is key to the success of a good business report. For example, you can separate sales data from customer analytics data and give them separate headings.
- Organize the report with appropriate headings, which can be skimmed as a standalone study but at the same time support the basic objective of the report.
- Because some parts may depend on the analysis or input data of another, often you can still work on each part separately while waiting for the results of the analysis.
- Any goal should contain specific and measurable actions. Write down any changes in the job description, schedule, or expenses needed to complete the new plan. Each assertion should directly present new methods – those that will help meet the goal/solution given in the report.
- The Executive Summary gets its name because it’s pretty much the only thing a busy board member will read. State everything important to your boss here, 200-300 words maximum. The rest will probably get a closer look if they want to know more.
- Overall, the visual effect is a great element, making business reports more interesting when the text and figures themselves can be relatively dry. But you also do not go too far, should only use when appropriate and necessary.
- A page filled with text and without tables or figures can tire the reader. Let’s frame the content there. Infoboxes can also effectively summarize the argument presented.
- Use the appropriate format for citations in your report, depending on your line of business.
- For example, don’t overuse flowery words or use too long sentences.
- Avoid using slang.
- If both the report and the reader are closely related to a particular industry, you can use jargon or technical jargon. But be careful, don’t overdo them.
- In general, business statements are written in the passive voice and are one of the few cases where the passive is better.
- You can often miss errors when re-reading your work because of the familiar feeling from the moment you write it. Consider having someone else in the room, who also wants to report success, read through. Be open to feedback received. It is better when the error is pointed out by a colleague instead of a superior. Review each comment and rewrite the report.
- This also applies to all tables and graphs included in the report.
This article was co-written by Michael R. Lewis. Michael R. Lewis is a retired Texas executive, entrepreneur and investment advisor. He has over 40 years of experience in Business & Finance, including the position of Vice President of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas. He holds a BBA in Industrial Management from the University of Texas at Austin.
This article has been viewed 15,876 times.
Business reporting is one of the most effective means of communicating business performance information today. Although they have very broad goals, they are generally used when businesses or individuals need to make important decisions. To write effective business reports, you first need to understand what they are and how to use them.
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