How to Write a Business Report: Structure & Examples

Regardless of the size of your company or the industry it is in, a business report is one of the most essential tools for any enterprise. It provides a means of tracking and analyzing your business’ health, and sheds light on the nuances related to its core functions.

It also enables you to identify the areas that need improvement, as well as any opportunities for growth and expansion that may arise. It should inform every decision you make related to your business.

Moreover, business reports are the only way for stakeholders to keep up with everything that’s happening in the company. It is particularly important if you’re looking for investors to help scale your business operations.

Although business reporting may sound like a complicated process, it’s a pretty straightforward affair. You just need to know how to go about it. Here’s a step-by-step process on how to write a business report.

How to Write a Business Report 101 – Title Page

Every business report needs to have a title page that sets out what the report is about. Be sure to include your name, and that of anyone else who worked on the report with you, and the date of preparation as well.

Example:

Report on the Staff Turnover Rate at XYZ Corp.

Submission date: July 01, 2020.

Compiled by: John Doe

Executive Summary

This next section needs to summarize the key highlights of the report. It should include a brief overview of what the report covers, the data collection methods used, findings, conclusion, and recommendations of the research. The length of the executive summary will depend, of course, on the scope of the entire report.

Example:

The board of directors tasked the head of human resources to examine the high employee turnover rate at XYZ Corp. The information contained in this report was gathered by five members of the human resources department, over six months.

They conducted face-to-face interviews, analyzed the existing administration records, and examined the current working conditions. Based on the findings, this report makes recommendations to minimize the high rate of staff exits.

Table of Contents

If you’re preparing a short business report, you may not need to include a table of contents. The executive summary would suffice in such instances. However, for the longer ones, you will need to set out a table of contents that includes the titles of each of the sections in the document and their respective pages for easy reference.

Introduction

This is the first section of the main report. It needs to provide some background information on the company, and the purpose and scope of the report.

Example:

XYZ Corp has been in operation for more than 15 years and employs 215 people. Approximately 68% of the workforce deal with processing insurance claims. Despite the prevailing unemployment rate in the region, the company has had an annual staff turnover rate of 55% to 60% over the last five years.

Body

The body of the report needs to detail the data collection methods used in compiling information. For instance, did you apply qualitative or quantitative methods or a combination of both?

You’ll also need to justify why you chose to use those methods and why they were the most appropriate for the task.

This section also needs to present your findings logically and succinctly, with enough information to show that the research process was thorough.

Example:

The main issue cited by employees was the lack of clear communication between them and the top management. They pointed out the inconsistent and often last-minute instructions they would receive from various departmental heads. It has caused a general sense of disgruntlement and disillusionment among employees.

The female staff members also expressed concern over the lack of support for new mothers who require child-care assistance to be able to fulfil their work obligations as they should.

The absence of an in-house child-care system has left them feeling frustrated and in search of greener pastures. The female workforce aged 40 years and below accounts for 65% of the company’s human resources.

Conclusion and Recommendations

This is the final section of the main report. It should summarize everything you learned from the exercise and recommend the best course of action to take based on the conclusion of your findings.

It’s always a good idea to refer to the objectives to ensure that the business report doesn’t lose sight of what it’s supposed to focus on.

Example:

Conclusions

The main issues identified by the HR team were as follows:

1. Lack of communication between the top management and the rest of the staff
2. Lack of a child-care system that offers support to new mothers

Recommendations

To address these issues, we recommend that the following steps be taken to reduce the high staff turnover rate going forward.

1. Each department should nominate an employee welfare champion to represent the interests of their colleagues at management meetings. This champion will express staff concerns to management and relay the outcomes to their team members. This will increase the overall level of engagement.
2. An in-house child-care system should be established at minimal cost to the company as a way to incentivize new mothers to return to work.

References

Any time you use third-party resources as part of your research process, you’ll need to list them in a bibliography at the end of the report. These are used to show what your findings and conclusions are based on.

Example:

Rose Hightower, 2009, Internal Controls Policies and Procedures pp. 48-49.

Appendix (If applicable)

If you gathered extra documentation in the course of your research, like interview transcripts or company data, that would make the main report too long and unfocused if you included them there, you could add them to an appendix at the end of the document for the reader to reference.

The Perfect Tool for Informed Decision-Making

Now that you understand how to write a business report, keep the report writing formal, clear, concise, straight-to-the-point, error-free, and backed by facts. Always refer to the objective and main point to ensure that you don’t deviate from its purpose and come up with recommendations that can make a difference to your business.

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