What is a Business Report | Business Report Definition

What is a Business Report | Business Report Definition

The business report is a description of business events and financial activities that carries a written presentation in which one analyzes a real situation or a case study of business and applies necessary speculations and/or theories to produce a range of suggestions and/or recommendations in order to improve the situation. Though it is a specialized form of general report, there is no basic difference between the two. The function, process and principles of a business report and a general report are almost the same. The difference you may find between them lies only in their application to situations. Whereas a general report presents the description of different events in different situations and/or activities at large, a business report is especially concerned with business activities, covers the company's situation, business trend and financial activities.

However, the types of reports we are discussing here are those which business executives and their assistants write as part of their duty in an organization. These reports relate either to the work they have accomplished or to the activities of the organizations they are involved in. Remember that careful investigation, logical organization, sound thinking and clear writing are the preconditions to write such business reports. And these reports must be presented in a formal way. The main purpose of writing such business reports is to help one so that one can:

• Examine available and possible solutions to a problem, event, situation, or issue.
• Apply commercial and organizational theory to a practical situation.
• Show one's analytical and evaluation skills in identifying and weighing-up possible problems existing in business and their solutions.
• Arrive at conclusions about a problem or issue.
• Recommend to take necessary action in future.
• Demonstrate clear, concise and precise communication skills.

A business report is somewhat different from other general reports as it is written in a more or less formal way to meet a specific need or requirement. So, there is no place of personal feelings or expressions of recollected emotions in a business report. While writing such a report, one should not insist on unburdening one's heart. Rather, one should examine and present the collected data objectively. One must make sure that the conclusions and recommendations included in such reports are strictly based on the facts. Avoiding unnecessary frills is a must while writing such a business report as they may distract the attention of the audience. Thus, one should be careful about the choice of diction and structure, technique of presentation and style of exposition of the report so that precise and clear communication is not hampered.

There are some important features of a business report that one should know before writing such a report:

·         A business report is a formal statement of facts or information or an account of something.

·         It is presented in a conventional form.

·         It is written keeping in view a specific audience.

·         It includes information about the procedure of collecting data and the significance of such data.

·         It contains conclusions reached by the writer.

·         It often includes recommendations.

Remember that business reports never contain any single correct answer but several solutions to the problems and suggestions for the interest of an organization. So, you need to identify and weigh-up problems and their solutions carefully. Moreover, when writing a business report, you should keep your audience in view for whom you are writing. You have to ensure an appropriate level of formality, fairness, objectivity and sensitivity in your report so that your audience never gets confused and feels boring while presenting it.