MODULE 4: Business Reports

Prof. Rema Gopalan

Asso.Professor
Department of Management Studies,CMRIT
 Business Reports
• A business report is a document that offers
information and analysis to help decision-
makers form plans and objectives for the
company.

• Writing a business report is to make essential

information related to the company easily
accessible to everyone in the company.
 Types of Formal Business Reports
• Justification/recommendation report
• Investigative report
• Compliance report
• Feasibility report
• Research studies report
• A periodic report
• A situational report
• A yardstick report
 How to write a Business Report
• Plan before you write
• Check for an in-house format
• Add a title
• Write a table of contents
• Add a summary or abstract
• Write an introduction
• Outline your methodology
• Present your findings
• Finish with a conclusion and recommendations
• Add a bibliography and appendices
• Proofread
 Elements of a Long Report
• Cover
• Title Page
• Acknowledgements
• Table of Contents
• Executive Summary
• Introduction
• Description
• Conclusions
• Recommendations
• Appendix
• List of references/Bibliography
• Glossary
• Index
 What is an Executive Summary?
• An executive summary is a short section of a
larger document like a business plan,
investment proposal or project proposal.
• It is used to give investors and stakeholders a
quick overview of important information
about a business plan like the company
description, market analysis and financial
information.
How is an Executive Summary different from an
Abstract?
• Abstract, which is a short overview, an executive
summary format is a condensed form of the
documents contained in the proposal.

• Abstracts are more commonly used in academic and

research-oriented writing.

• You’ll often find executive summaries of:

– Business cases
– Project proposals
– Environmental studies
– Market surveys
– Project plans
Components of an Executive Summary
• Start with the problem or need the project is solving: Why is this
project happening? What insight, customer feedback, product plan,
or other need caused it to come to life?

• Outline the recommended solution, or the project’s objectives:

How is the project going to solve the problem you established in
the first part? What are the project goals and objectives?

• Explain the solution’s value: Once you’ve finished your project,

what will happen? How will this improve and solve the problem you
established in the first part?

• Wrap up with a conclusion about the importance of the work:

It can also be helpful to reference your audience and how your
solution will solve their problem. Finally, include any relevant next
steps.
 Example: Executive Summary
Let’s imagine you work for a watch
manufacturing company. Your project is to
devise a simpler, cheaper watch that still
appeals to luxury buyers while also targeting a
new bracket of customers.