A formal business report is information about a business that contains specific details and information about how a business is doing. Managers and others who have a high ranking in a business are those who read and evaluate this kind of report. Most use a certain format when creating this report such as a Title Section. This is the first page of the report and on it is the title of the report, who writes the report and the date. In some business reports, the reason for making the report is also in the title section. The Body of the report should be written first and later the details can be filled in.
Throughout the report, headings and subheadings should be used, as well as bold highlights and italics. Your information in the report needs to stand out and be clear.
The next section would be The Summary. This is when a summary is given about the report. The summary comes first because those who read it often have a busy schedule and don’t have time to read the entire report. In the summary there should be clear and detailed information about the problem or certain area or areas that the report is revealing. Included in the report should be key points, recommendations, results and conclusions. The summary should not be long but it should be concise and clear.
Next in the report is the Methodology. This should show your methods of research and why you used certain methods to achieve your report.
The Introduction comes next and this should give the background of the report. Here you should give information on why this report is so important to be read. Following The Introduction, is the Main Body. This is focus of the report. This part of the report should be written in a sequential way; in other words, the information should be arranged according to the importance of events. Data Tabulation comes next and should be presented by using lists or tables and should be presented in a professional style. Lastly, is your Conclusion on the topic of your report. The conclusion should be brief.
Recommendations are next in the report. Solutions or actions can be presented here and they should be bulleted and numbered. The Appendix is last and should show validity to what you presented in the report.
To conclude, a formal business report should be organized, clear, concise and most importantly, explain why this report should be read.