Introduction
Reports communicate information which has been compiled as a result of research and analysis of data and of issues. Reports can cover a wide range of topics, but usually focus on transmitting information with a clear purpose, to a specific audience.
What is the purpose of a report?
The purpose of writing for business, in the form of a paper or a report, is to inform the reader(s) about something of relevance to them. The first step in writing such a document should be to identify what one is trying to communicate - what is the overall purpose of the report, and what are the key points that need to be put across?
What is a good report?
The best reports put these points across succinctly, accurately, objectively, specifically and in full, leaving no room for ambiguity on the part of the reader. They are well-written, clearly structured and expressed in a way that holds the reader's attention and meets their expectations.
Rightly or wrongly, the quality and worth of the work that is reported on will be judged by the quality of the written report - its clarity, organization and content.
What are the types of reports?
The scope and style of reports varies widely. It depends on three key factors: the report's intended audience, the report's purpose and the type of information to be communicated.
Organizations create a variety of reports for different purposes and readers. Some are routine and produced frequently, while others are less common and more complex. Most reports are in hard copy or paper document form. Others, however, are electronic and have no physical existence. Report formats standardize the structures of common report types, making them uniform across a range of industries and subject matters.
Often reports are structured in a way that reflects the information finding process and the writing up of the findings: i.e. a summary of the contents, introduction or background, methods, results, discussion, conclusion and/or recommendations.
Memos
A memo, short for memorandum, is a type of routine report an organization prepares for internal communication purposes. It is impersonal and objective in its tone, and its length ranges between one and a few sentences, to several pages. Most memos begin with background information, including information on the sender, receiver, the date, subject and location in case the memo refers to an event. A memo is the most informal type of report format.
Letters
Letter reports are usually one-page documents used for external communication purposes. They are in block form and include standard features of letters, such as the sender’s address, receiver’s name and address, date, salutation, body, acknowledgment and sender’s signature. Letter reports normally are typed on a company letterhead.
Formal Reports
Formal reports follow a methodical structure and communicate knowledge, results and findings to a range of internal and external readers. Most formal reports contain a title page, cover letter, table of contents, list of tables and illustrations, executive summary, an extensive body and references. The title page lists the name of the report, date of completion and name of author or company. The cover letter summarizes the purpose of the report, its importance and any required follow-up action needed. The table of contents lists the major topics in the report along with their page numbers. The executive summary highlights the report's main points, the report body also may include conclusions and recommendations, and the references page notes the sources cited in the report.
Semi-Formal Reports
A semi-formal report, also called a titled document, is a shorter, less complex version of a formal report. Semi-formal reports typically have multiple pages including a title page, introduction page, a body and references
Services
Annual Returns
All companies are required by law to file their annual returns with CIPC within a certain period of time each year. CIPC uses this information to ensure that it is in possession of the latest information of the company and to determine whether the company is still conducting business.
Mzaidume Consulting has extensive expertise and experience in the completion and filing of CIPC annual returns.
Month-end Procedures and Reports: Public Sector
In any large organisation such as a government department, a sequence of complex and interlinked accounting transactions must be completed at the end of each period in order to produce a ‘result’ for the period. While the detail and volume of these transactions may vary considerably from department to department (and from accounting system to accounting system), the nature of the tasks to be completed will be consistent, and will include the requirement to undertake reconciliations, check the allocation of transactions, clear errors and suspense items and balance various types of accounts. These processes may well appear tedious, but a failure to complete them on a routine basis will lead to major complications and delays at the end of the financial year, and possibly expose the accounting officer to a charge of financial misconduct for not producing the department’s accounts within the prescribed period of two months.
Mzaidume Consulting has extensive expertise and experience in planning and facilitating monthly reporting in the public sector.
Quarterly Reporting: Public Sector
Quarterly performance reports provide progress updates on the implementation of an institutions’ Annual Performance Plan in the previous quarter, with particular reference to monitoring delivery against quarterly performance targets. A quarterly performance report provides the executive authority and the treasuries with information on performance against plans.
Quarterly performance reports also provide the accounting officer with an opportunity to indicate measures that will be taken to ensure that implementation of the Annual Performance Plan remains on track. Public institutions are by law required to
- Monitor institutional performance
- Report quarterly on their performance
- Comply with certain minimum requirements when reporting
Quarterly reporting in the public sector in governed by the National Treasury Framework for Strategic Plans and Annual Performance Plans of August 2010, and the National Treasury Guide on In- Year Management, Monitoring and Reporting.
Mzaidume Consulting has extensive expertise and experience with quarterly reporting in the public sector.
Quarterly Reviews: Private Sector
Quarterly reviews help managers understand the current state of the company and markets, and to identify and prioritize the best goals/initiatives for the following quarter. The reviews are at the heart of integrating strategy with operations. They are both intuitively and analytically derived; they provide key stakeholders and outside experts with a forum to examine and debate the company’s current state, issues, opportunities, and priorities going forward. They ultimately determine the best set of initiatives to execute in the following quarter.
The entire process keeps the executive team better informed of each department’s activities, progress, goals, and needs; keeps the department heads accountable and responsible; and keeps all departments aligned toward the company’s strategic goals.
Quarterly reviews are not a legal requirement, but they are critical, regardless of a company’s maturity. These regular reviews ultimately allow a company to improve, refine, and adjust executional performance, and provide it with the strategic direction and focus that it needs to achieve the goals that have been set for the business.
Mzaidume Consulting has extensive expertise and experience in planning and facilitating quarterly reviews in the private sector.
Annual Reporting: Public Sector
The primary purpose of annual reports is accountability.
- It is an effective accountability document
- It is the primary mechanism used to impart unbiased knowledge about the health of the organisation in an informative, structured and cost-effective manner
- It is a report on the stewardship of the organisation by the governing body (i.e. those responsible for its control) and management over the previous year
- It educates and informs stakeholders
- It outlines the future direction and strategy of the organisation
- It explains the goals and objectives of the organisation
- It addresses issues of risk and opportunity
- It is a report on the performance of the organisation against the objectives, indicators and targets that it had set for itself and places that performance in context
- It deals with the organisation’s financial performance and financial position
- It provides the highlights and lowlights of the period under review
- It speaks to environmental issues pertaining to the organisation and matters that are relevant to the organisation’s social obligations
- It fulfils legal and regulatory responsibilities
- It deals with all matters of relevance to the stakeholders of the organisation
- It serves as a marketing tool for the organisation
Public institutions are by law required to report annually on their performance. Guidance for the annual reporting of public institutions is provided by the National Treasury Annual Report Guide for National and Provincial Departments and the National Treasury Guide Annual Report Guide for Schedule 3A and 3C Public Entities
Mzaidume Consulting has extensive expertise and experience with annual reporting in the public sector.
Annual Reporting: Private Sector
The primary purpose of annual reports in the private sector is the same as in the public sector.
Annual reports are, however, not a legal requirement in the private sector, save that the Companies Act of 2008 provides that a directors’ report; the audited financial statements for the preceding financial year; an audit committee report; the election of directors to the extent required by the Companies Act or a company’s Memorandum of Incorporation; the appointment of an auditor and an audit committee for the ensuing financial year; and any matters raised by shareholders, with or without advance notice to the company should be part of the business transacted at the annual general meeting of a public company.
Mzaidume Consulting has extensive expertise and experience with annual reporting in the private sector.