The Formal Report

What is a business report?

• An orderly and objective communication
of factual information that serves a
business purpose
 3 parts 1.ofTitleafly report
2. Title page
3. Authorization letter
1. Prefatory pages 4. Transmittal letter
5. Table of contents
6. List of Tables
7. Executive summary

2. Report story 1.
2.
Introduction
Analysis & Interpretation
3. Findings
4. Conclusions
5. Recommendations

3. Appended parts
Questionnaire,
additional references, bibliography
 Title fly
• Contains only report title. This page is a
mere formality
• Title construction should be done carefully
taking into consideration 2 aspects –
completeness & conciseness
• Complete: build your title around the 5 W’s
&1H
• Concise: seek the most economical word
pattern
 Title page
• 3 spot arrangement:
1. Report title
2. Recipient’s address
3. Writer’s address
date of submission
SALES TRAINING RECOMMENDATIONS FOR
NOKIA
BASED ON A 2005 STUDY OF COMPANY SALES ACTIVITIES

Prepared for:
Joe Smith
(Full Address)

Prepared by:
Bob Barker
(Full Address)

July 28, 2009

 Authorization letter
• Not mandatory
• Reqd. only if report is authorized in writing
• The letter confers authority on the
individual/agency to do the research ,
outlines the problem, explains what info. Is
needed, defines time & money limitations
& any other specific instructions like date
of submission of report.
 Transmittal letter
• A covering letter that transmits the report to the
reader. It is usually brief and follows this pattern:
1. an opening statement,“transmitting” the report to the
reader and stating its title or purpose (for example,“Here
is the report you requested on . . .”)
2. a brief outline of the major conclusions or
recommendations
3. a statement of thanks for any special help received from
other employees
4. a goodwill close that looks forward to future discussion or
opportunities to help
 Table of contents
• This is the report outline with page no.s
• helps the reader find specific information, indicates how the
information has been organised and what topics are covered.
• Only those parts that follow this page are listed here. (includes
executive summary, report proper & appended parts)
• List the sections of the report in a column on the left, using the same
system of numbering used in the body of the report.(do not put page
number range, just the first page number)
• If the report has subsections, list these as well. (Subsection headings
may be indented a few spaces from the section headings.)
• In a column at the right of the page, list the appropriate page numbers.
• No page number on TOC page
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive Summary........................... 1
Introduction ....................................... 2
Background
Purpose
Scope
Research Questions
Report Organization
Research and Analysis...................... 4
Methodology
Findings
Conclusions & Recommendations..... 6
Appendices........................................ 7
Appendix 1: Survey questions
Appendix 2: Client proposal
Appendix 3: PowerPoint slides
 List of Tables
• If the report itself contains a number of tables
or figures, list them with an appropriate label
—for example,“List of Tables.”
 Executive Summary
• Report in miniature
• Also called synopsis, abstract, précis, digest or epitome,
it is less than an eighth of the report
• ES states why the report has been written (i.e. what
question or problem it is addressing)
• • how the study was undertaken
• • what the main findings were
• • what is the significance of the findings.
• Can be written in the direct or indirect order
 Direct order
• Gives the main message first
• Begins with the summary of facts,
conclusions and recommendations. The
introductory info. and other major
highlights come later
• Direct order is more popular in recent
times
 Indirect order
• Follows the traditional pattern of intro. ,
body & conclusion
 The Introduction

1. Origin of the Report provides a review of facts of

authorization
2. Problem & Purpose: which defines the objectives of the
project or study (events leading up to the existing situation,
and why the project or study is necessary.)
• 3 ways of stating research purpose are:
1. The infinitive form: To determine the causes of decreasing
sales at Store X.
2. Question: What are the causes of decreasing sales at Store X?
3. Declarative statement: Sales is decreasing at Store X and
management wants to know why
Introduction –contd.
• Historical background: here you acquaint the readers with
how the problem developed and what has been done about it.
Review past investigations about the problem and what still
needs to be done.
• Scope of study: outlines the extent of coverage of the issue
and what the study does not cover
• Limitations: things that affect the quality of the report such
as time & budget constraints, absence of certain kinds of info
etc.
• Research methodology: tells your reader about sources and
methods of collecting information.
Introduction -contd.
• Definitions of unfamiliar words & acronyms
should be done either in the intro. or as
footnotes when the term is first used in the
report.
• Report preview: For very long reports, the final
part of the report should preview the report
presentation. Here the sequence of topics that
follow is briefly stated. The report preview is
important in the coherence plan of the report.
 Report body
• After the introduction comes the report
body. The info gathered and analyzed is
appropriately divided into chapters.
Figures & tables that are relevant to the
matter discussed are properly numbered
and labeled and included in the text.
 Ending the report
• The report usually ends with a summary of
the major findings, conclusions &
recommendations.
• Ending summary is different from the
executive summary.
 Appended parts
• Appendix includes supplementary info. that
supports the body of the report but has no
logical place within the body. Possible appendix
contents are : questionnaires, summary tables,
additional references, that do not directly
connect with the report body.
• A Bibliography listing the exhaustive wealth of
reading on the topic comes in the appended
part.