Business report writing Zoë Mitchell , Faculty, NSCC School of Access Welcome to the lesson on writing business reports From Susan Hunt, Faculty, NSCC

Types of reports Sales proposal Funding request Progress report Analysis of a new product, service or market Marketing plan Financial assessment Employee assessment Quarterly and annual reports …many more. There are thousands of different type of business reports. These are just a few: sales proposal; funding request; progress report; an analysis of a new product, service or market; marketing plan; financial assessment; employee assessment; as well as quarterly and annual reports

Common elements Brief summary of information Written for a specific audience and purpose Informs or persuades reader Often CONFIDENTIAL Strict formatting style: Single spaced 12 point font Times New Roman or Arial Written in plain language –grade 8 audience if intended for public reading Broken into sections with subheadings Does NOT follow 5-sentence rule for paragraphs. Only write what is necessary. May include an executive summary at beginning (if long report) Often includes graphs, charts and images References and source citations if a research report Looks professional No matter the type of report, there are common elements found with all reports. First the report is a brief summary of information. In business, time is money, so information is written concisely. Also, the report is directed to a specific audience and written for a specific purpose. For instance, the report may be a business plan that is submitted to a bank officer who will decide whether or not the company will receive a capital loan from the bank. Alternatively, companies that are publically traded on the stock market must by law publish quarterly and annual reports that include financial statements. Generally business reports inform or persuade the reader to do something. Often they are confidential and not to be shared publically, unless it is the example just mentioned. In addition, formatting style of the report looks very professional. Font is single spaced and often 12 point Times New Roman or Arial or similar fonts that are very easy to read. Usually the report is written in basic, plain language. If the report is written for a public audience, then generally the language could be read by a grade 8 student, with the exception of financial terms and financial statements. The report is always broken into sections and subdivided with subheadings. That allows the reader to quickly skim down through the subheads and read the sections that are relevant. Often people do not read reports from front to back. They usually read the first summary section, and then skip to the sections that are most important. Business writing never follows the traditional English class 5-sentence rule for paragraphs. For instance, a paragraph in a business report could be a single sentence. If the report is long, it will likely include an executive summary at the beginning that highlights the most important points of the report. Often business reports include graphs, charts and images. Last, if the report includes information that was researched, the references will be provided.

Delivery options Print reports Presentations (usually with MS PowerPoint) Online (websites, text documents attached in email, web board for sharing information or making sales presentations, etc.) Business reports are shared in a number of ways. Typically they are printed. If they’re intended for a small audience, such as a loans officer, they’ll just be printed on a regular printer. However, if they’re intended for a public audience, then they’ll be professionally designed by a graphic designer and printed in full colour at a print shop. Often the content of business reports are shared in presentations, typically using PowerPoint as a visual aid. In addition, business reports can be shared online as attachments or in PDF format.

RECAP Report writing Common practice in business Essential means of communicating lots of info quickly Written for a specific audience and purposes Formatted to look professional Just to quickly review, business reports are commonly used in business and are a method of sharing a lot of important information quickly. They’re written for a specific audience and specific purpose. They are formatted to look professional, so the formatting is almost as important as the information provided in the report, because the formatting helps the reader skim through the report and choose which information to read.

References 17 Designs. (2015). Business reports & proposals [Image]. Retrieved from http://www.17designs.com/business-reports.php Linkedin.com. (2013). Should everyone work in consulting? [Image]. Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20130828152423- 10878085-should-everyone-work-in-consulting-at-least-for-a-few-years Nuckles, B. (2014). 5 ways to share a business presentation from an Android phone [Image]. Retrieved from http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/5946-business-presentation-android- phone-projector.html ProfitID. (2013). Some questions to ask before you sign a new vendor contract [Image]. Retrieved from http://profitid.com/ Here are my references I used to prepare this presentation.

Thank you Questions? Thank you for listening and please let me know if you have any questions.