An oral report is defined as "a report presented in verbal form with no
written documentation." (Rufus et al., 2014) An example of a situation
where an oral report may be requested is when providing testimony
in court. There are some cons to giving an oral report over a written
report. One con is that the recipient of the information may
misunderstand what the accountant is saying. This can lead to people
relaying information that is false due to the misunderstanding of what
was being said. When giving oral reports, it is important to have a pre-
report outline and a memo to file, which contains the context of the
oral report. Before giving an oral report, it is important to understand
why the oral report is being requested so that the accountant isn’t put
in a risky situation. If the accountant doesn’t feel comfortable giving
an oral report or believes the reasons for the request are for
suspicious reasons, it’s best for the accountant to find an alternative
option.
According to the textbook, some important notes about oral reports
are:
• a "The presenter must understand that speech differs from writing
in both function and style.
• a The length of an oral report is generally short (15–30 min.).
• a The focus of an oral report is usually the results (findings), which
are presented concurrently with analysis and discussion.
• a The presenter is responsible for selecting the necessary
information to be communicated and ensuring that it is relayed
successfully." (Rufus et al., 2014)
References:
Rufus, R., Miller, L., & Hahn, W. (2014). Forensic accounting. Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
