An example topic has been chosen to illustrate the process of writing a business report. A sample marking criteria is also avaliable.

Example topic

Aim: To write effective business reports applying professional standards.

Tasks: Produce a short formal report, including conclusions and recommendations, to a professional standard using currently recognised formats for content and referencing. Produce a letter of transmittal using accepted professional standards for layout, structure and tone.

Instructions: There are major parking concerns for staff on campus at Otago Polytechnic. On the one hand, there are not enough car parks for all staff; on the other hand, the management team knows that staff are very touchy on the subject since the majority consider access to a parking space a 'right' rather than a 'privilege'. There are five parking areas at the Forth Street Campus.

Currently parking is offered free of charge to staff on a 'first in, first served' basis. Staff who have not parked before 8.20 a.m. are not likely to find a space in the staff parks, and must compete with students and the public to find parking on the street. There are also problems with non-staff cars being parked illegally in the staff parks. 

The polytechnic management team wishes to find solutions to these problems which are agreeable to all staff, as well as being financially viable. They are not willing to significantly reduce existing areas of lawn and garden. 

Write a short analytical report examining the issues and making recommendations to the management team about ways to resolve the parking issues.

The Findings section of your report should be approximately 1000 words. The letter of transmittal should be approximately one page. Your report should include all the following sections, each of which should begin on a new page:

1. Title page 

2. Letter of transmittal 

3. Table of contents 

4. Terms of reference 

5. Executive summary 

6. Procedure 

7. Findings 

8. Conclusions 

9. Recommendations 

10. Reference List 

11. Appendices (optional) 

Where to start?

Business reports do not necessarily need to follow a standard format as long as they are well organized, but there are a few key steps that should be made before writing business reports. These are:

1. Defining the task
2. Defining the scope of the report
3. Determining your audience and
4. Researching sources

Define the task

What is the purpose of business reports?

Business reports are commonly used to help people make decisions. They provide comprehensive information and expert opinion that aims to be objective, accurate and complete. Examples of decisions are:

• Deciding whether or not to open new export markets
• Questioning whether government broadcasting regulations on censorhip are adequate
• Whether or not to invest in a company based on their annual business reports

Research is a critical element of business reports. Therefore, it is important that the research is thorough and accurate. Information that is incorrect or incomplete could lead the audience to draw the wrong conclusion and make faulty decisions.

In general, business reports have one of two purposes:

• To answer questions: these are written with the intention of covering a problem and determining whether or not it is worthwhile to pursue a solution
• To define a solution to a problem: written with the intention of defining a solution or plan of action for a pre-existing problem

Define the scope

One of the first steps to writing business reports is to define the scope of the report. In this step you need to think about the purpose of the report and decide what information needs to be covered. You may want to begin your preliminary outline to guide you when doing the research for your report. At this stage you may also want to write an introductory paragraph to define the purpose of the report. 

You need to ask yourself some questions: 

• What is report about? What is it not about? You don't need to write a detailed scope at this stage, just an outline structure, showing sections, headings, points and sub-points
• This scope and outline will help shape your research, your writing, and your time frame. How long have you got? What research needs to be done? Make sure you give yourself plenty of time

Define the audience

The next step in writing business reports is to determine the audience for the report. Are you writing it for the general public or a small group of internal employees? Knowing who your audience is will influence how your report is written and what type of information you include. 

Consider the audience's: 

• Need for the report
• Education level 
• Position in the company and 
• Knowledge base on the intended topic

If the report is to be written for the general public, it should not include technical terms, nor information that may be commercially sensitive. However, if the business report is written for internal use, it is appropriate to include technical terms and, depending on the position in the company of the audience, it may or may not include proprietary information (material and information relating to or associated with a company's products, business, or activities).

Plan outline

Outlining is another name for making 'planning notes'.

• However you plan your report, the aim is to produce a plan that is detailed enough to enable you to take control of your writing, yet flexible enough to allow you to make changes where necessary. Always regard your plan as rough rather than a straitjacket. Be prepared to be flexible as new information comes to hand

• Identify particular headings and subheadings and list the ideas associated with each. Group related ideas where possible and then arrange them in a logical order

• You can use an outlining system to organise your ideas. This is also known as a schematic model

You need to decide: do you need primary and/or secondary information? Secondary may be too general, or too out of date, or it may be fine. It all depends on what you need for your research.

Primary sources

Primary sources of information include anything that is original such as: 

• Original research

• Reports of an event recorded by someone who was there

• Personal memoirs, diaries and autobiographies

• Interviews

• Statistics

• Photographs

Example: Interview material generated from conversations you have had with various staff members at the Polytechnic is primary source material.

Secondary sources

Secondary information sources interpret, analyse or describe primary sources and events – they are at least ‘one step away’ from the actual event. Many books and articles contain secondary information, including text books and scholarly reviews.

Example: Books and articles written on, for example, employment law or workplace relations in New Zealand would count as secondary sources of information.

Once you have selected and evaluated the sources you are going to use, you need to consider in more detail how they will inform the scope and argument of your report. In other words, you need to analyse your sources in more detail.

• Does the material support your argument well?
• Or does the material contradict your argument?
• If you have any statistics or data, what aspects of your argument do they relate to, and do they help illustrate a point?

Redefine scope and revisit outline

Once primary and secondary sources are gathered and studied, it may well be that the scope or focus of the report changes. You may realise your original scope is too broad, or that it is too general. Perhaps what you thought were promising areas turn out to be dead ends or some data may be unavailable.

Redefining the scope is normal, and nothing to get upset about. It may also entail redefinition of your outline, tasks and scheduling.

Now return to your initial outline:

• Do you need to make any changes to your scope?

• Do you need to find any more resources to add to your resources list?

• Do you need to alter or add to your argument in any way?

Have a look at the example plan (outline) you saw earlier. It has been added to and modified.

How to structure the report

Most formal, analytical or investigative reports have a standard type of structure, although some individuals and organisations prefer variations upon this structure. They typically have three main sections:

Recommendations might also be included in the memo/letter of transmittal, although the author may choose to leave them out if they are appear at first sight to be controversial.

Sample letter of transmittal

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The business report is a structured response to a series of questions posed about an actual or hypothetical business situation. It is intended to convey as much information as possible and address the issues raised in a comprehensive way. To help you achieve a complete response there are many structural tools that can help. These include the use of:

• Headings
• Columns
• Diagrams or sketches
• Margins
• Statistics
• Graphics and charts
• Industry or business specific terminology
• References to case study

Whilst the use of any or all of these structures and presentation devices can help it is important that they are utilised appropriately and well.

The first draft

Using the structure outlined above write the first draft of your report. Remember, what you write at this stage will not necessarily be what the readers see. Very few of us can write a flawless first draft! You should expect to do at least a second draft.

It is good to allow time between drafts. If you get too close, you will tend to lose perspective on your report.

Editing the draft

Once you have produced a first draft you need to edit it. Editing involves checking the content of your writing. 

An example first draft is below. Revisions and corrections have been marked on the draft by the author.

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It is also a very good idea to become aware of the sort of errors you make in your writing and keep a record of them in your personal proof-reading checklist.

Citing and referencing

Citing or referencing information provides the reader of your business report with the following details:  

• Who wrote the information you have used (ideas, quotations)
• Where the information is located (in a book, newspaper article, report)

When you cite information it is important to present this information consistently. You must acknowledge the sources of your information (who was responsible) because when you don't cite your sources, you may be accused of plagiarism.

Report check list