BUS-202: Business Communication

REPORT WRITING

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 LEARNING OUTCOME

• Definition of a report.
• Different types of report.
• Purpose of a report.
• Principles or characteristics of a good
business report.
• Parts / elements of a formal business
report.

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 Definition of a report
A report is an objective and presentation of information
in order to achieve some purpose. It is a basic
management tool used in decision-making.

According to C. A. Brown
"A report is a communication from someone who has
some information to someone who wants someone to
use that information"

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 Definition of a report

According to Ramond V. A. Lesikar,

“A business report is an orderly, objective communication
of factual information that serves some business purpose"

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 Different types of report

There is no single way to classify reports. We can classify report in

various ways on different bases:
On the basis of structure, report may be-
 Formal report:
Formal report is prepared usually in prescribed form designed
by an organization for its own use. They may be statutory or non
statutory. Statutory report is public limited company, directors
report etc. And non-statutory reports conclude committee
reports, share allotment reports etc.

 Informal report:
Informal reports do not adhere to the formal rules of the
organization. They are prepared usually informally, usually in
memorandum of letters forms.
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• On the basis of purpose, report may be-

 Informational report: Informational report is prepared for

providing information exactly as they are. It is not a
lengthy report.

 Analytical report: Analytical report contains information

but it also contains the opinion of the report writer. It is a
lengthy report.

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• On the basis of frequency of issue, report may be-

 Routine report: routine reports are prepared and

presented at regular, prescribed, intervals in the usual
routine of business. They may be submitted annually,
semi-annually, monthly, weekly or everyday.

 Special report: Special reports are related to a single

occasion or situation.

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 On the basis of the subject matter, report may be-

 Problem determining report: When a report is

prepared to determine the causes of problem then it is
called problem-determining report.

 Fact determining problem report: This report is

prepared to find out the actually existing problems.

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 On the basis of persons interested, report may be-

 Report by individual: An individual like branch manager

may submit Report.

 Report by committee: Sometimes report may be more

than one person, and then it is called report by
committee.

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 Purposes of a report
A report is an objective and factual presentation in
order to achieve some important purposes. These
purposes are discussed below:
1. To require the essential information for decision-
making.
2. Take important decision from the collecting information.
3. Express the neutral figure of any important matter.
4. To increase the movement of administration.
5. To increase direction and controlling.

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 Purpose of a report
7. To prepare the future agenda.
8. To compare the getting result with established budget.
9. To supply the information to the government offices.
10. To help express the accurate planning.
11. To explain the important and complex matter.

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 Principles or characteristics of a good
business report
• Precision: In a good report, the report writer is very clear
about writing it. Precision gives a kind of unity to report and
make it a valuable document.
• Accuracy of facts: Accuracy of facts is an essential
principle of writing a good report.
• Relevance: The facts presented in a report should be not
only accurate but also relevant.
• Reader orientation: A good report is always reader
oriented. It is needed to a reader to set up his mind.

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 Principles or characteristics of a good
business report
• Objectivity of recommendation: If the recommendations
are made at the end of a report, they must be impartial
and objective.
• Simple and easy language: A good report should be
written in a simple word. It should be free from various
forms of complexity.
• Clarity: A good report should be clear. Clarity depends on
the proper arrangement of facts.
• Brevity: The final principle is that a report should be brief.
Brevity should not be achieved at the cost of clarity.

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Parts / elements of a formal business report
A formal business report is prepared and presented for an
organization for its own use. They may be statutory and
non-statutory.
Elements / Parts of formal report:
Basically there are three parts of formal report-
1. Preliminary parts:
2. Report body:
3. Supplemental Parts:

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Preliminary parts: The preliminary part identifies and
explain the subject and contents of report. Preliminary
parts contains the following-
i. Title Fly
ii. Title Page
iii. Letter of Transmittal
iv. Acknowledgement
v. Executive Summery
vi. Table of Contents

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Report body: The body is the process of a report. Here the facts are presented and
interpreted and the conclusion and recommendations are stated. The body of report
includes the following parts:
Chapter-01: Introduction
1.1 Statement of the research problem
1.2 Scope of the study
1.3 Objectives of the study
1.4 Methodology of the study
1.5 Limitations of the study
Chapter-02:Discussion: An overview of the problem (Issue/ Company/ Products/
services/ ideas)
2.1 -------
2.2 -------
2.3 And so on
Chapter-03: Findings and Analysis
3.1 ----------
3.2 ----------
3.3 And so on.
Recommendations and Conclusions
4.1 -------
4.2 ------ 16
4.3 And so on
Supplemental Parts: The supplemental parts division
follows the body and provides reference to help the reader
to better understand about it. They are-
i. Bibliography
ii. Appendices

These are the part of a formal report. A report may become

more formal as more parts are added. Since the subject
matter in a formal report is usually more complex and
requires more comprehensive coverage, the report writer
should use the above parts in a formal report.

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