ANALYSING A SPREADSHEET AND PRESENTING A BUSINESS REPORT

Activities 4 –Preparing a Business Report

Communication is an important part of everyone’s career. In business, one way of communicating is through the use of reports. A report is a document which is used to provide information to management to inform them of issues, to help solve problems, and to present recommendations. For example, the Accounting department at Hammer Wines might write a report to management to analyse monthly sales figures and to recommend cost cutting measures. The Marketing department might present a proposal for a new marketing campaign. Every report will vary in size, in the level of formality required, and in its specific purpose. However, no matter what the purpose it should always contain factual information and be presented in clear, concise language.

The planning stage of a report is extremely important. The planning given to a report will determine how useful it will be to those who read it. As a writer you need to give special attention to clearly defining exactly why you are writing the report, who the audience is likely to be and exactly what the reader wants and needs to know. Only when these issues are clearly established can you determine your information needs and begin collecting relevant information.

The following is an outline of suggested steps to use when planning your report.

 Clearly identify the purpose. It is a good idea to write down a ‘purpose statement’. Ensure that the title of the report accurately reflects this purpose.

 Consider who may read the report. What is their attitude about the issue likely to be? What previous knowledge do they have about the issue? This will affect how persuasive you may have to be and how much background material to include in the introduction.

 Decide what information is needed. Refer to the purpose statement. What questions need answering to satisfy the purpose? What information needs to be collected to answer these questions?

 Collect the information. You may use primary sources (such as interviews and surveys), secondary sources (such as surveys conducted by professional associations) or tertiary sources (such as academic text books)

 Sort the information. At this stage you may find that some information is not relevant to the issue and should be discarded

 Prepare an outline. Consider how you can arrange the information in a suitable and logical sequence. (For example: problem-solution, past-present-future)

Problem/Opportunity

You work for Hammer Wines in the role of Sales Manager. You have just received a copy of the analysis for sales representatives ending June 2007. You notice that 70% of profit is made by the top 30% and that some products have recorded very low sales. Business Communication Office 2010

Word Processing Page 15 Activities 4 & 5

Colin has asked you to prepare a report for distribution at the next sales review meeting. He requires you to analyse trends in sales by identifying the worst and best sellers and to make any recommendations with regard to whether some products should be deleted, which products need extra promotion and whether you have any ideas about how this could be achieved (Focus on two – four products only).

Solution

In the following two activities we will prepare and write a report for discussion at the next sales meeting.

Report Preparation

This activity is best completed in groups.

Begin preparing the report by answering the following questions:

 Clearly identify the purpose of this report. Exactly why has Colin asked you to write this report? What does he want the report to achieve? Are you required to analyse data? Does he expect recommendations?

 What questions need to be answered to complete this report? Write out a list of questions. eg: Which products have the best/worst sales, Which products make the best/least profits?………

 Where will you obtain the information to answer these questions?

 Who will read the report? Do the potential readers have an understanding of the background to this report? Are they likely to have a positive attitude about your ideas? If not you may need to use a more persuasive approach.

Once you have answered these questions you are ready for the next stage of planning:

 Collect the information needed to answer the relevant questions. (You will have to use a little imagination here) Brainstorm your group for ideas!

 Sort your information in a logical manner. Discard anything that is not relevant.

 Decide on a logical sequence and prepare an outline of the headings needed for the report. Your first heading will be ‘Introduction’.