Fillable Printable Business Report Template Guide

Business Report Template Guide

ANALYSING A BUSINESS REPORT

Here is an example of a business report question from the

2001 HSC exam. There is a sample answer with comments on

the following pages.

Question:

In your answer, you will be assessed on how well you:

 use your knowledge and the information provided

 communicate using relevant business terminology and

concepts

 present a logical, well-structured answer to the

question in the form of a business report

‘Taking the fast lane to successes is a goal of a

business called Spatial Internet. This information

technology business has been operating as a

partnership for two years and has achieved rapid

growth.

It is now finding the competition stronger, threatening

its market share. The business has another problem

in retaining its mostly young, highly educated and

mobile staff.

Spatial Internet wants to expand into e-commerce.

The question always

gives you hints which

steer you in a certain

direction in terms of

what to write about. You

could reasonably assume

that an information

technology business

would sell products such

as internet connection

facilities, computing

packages and other

accessories.

If the question gives you

information about the

business like this, it is

usually for a reason. You

should underline or

circle important words

like these and think

about how you could

comment on them in

your report.

You need to know your

work well!

E-commerce is buying

and selling over the

Internet and requires a

business to set up a

website, online payment

facilities and

distribution channels for

getting the products

purchased to the

customer.

What could you make

from these points?

- Young staff may want

flexible working

conditions.

- being highly educated

they are very

employable, in demand

and could leave if they

do not like working for

Spatial Internet.

So to achieve effective

employment relations

what strategies could be

used to address these

issues?

This part of the question is a great place to look for

phrases that you can use as the major headings of

your report. A basic report structure could be built

out of these:

Situational Analysis (which all reports have -

sometimes called an

Executive Summary)

Funding Options for E-commerce Proposal

Managing Change Strategies

Achieving Effective Employment Relations

Achieving Effective Social Responsibility

Report Summary (in other words a conclusion)

For the major headings you could then make

up sub-headings which cover each point or

issue you are going to explain.

Funding Options for E-commerce Proposal:

1. Owners Equity or Retained Profits

2. Bank Loan

3. Leasing

4. Overdraft

It’s a good idea to spend 5 minutes at the

start planning your report in this way.

Make sure you highlight or circle the directive word in the question – are you being asked

to explain, analyse, evaluate etc. Explain requires you to make the relationships between

things evident, providing how and/or why.

These are the broad

assessment criteria.

The best answers not only

include your own detailed

knowledge, but make links

between it and the

information provided.

SAMPLE BUSINESS REPORT – 2001 HSC

Situational Analysis

Spatial Internet, a computer and internet company, has been

in operation for 2 years, and despite rapid initial growth while

in the growth stage of its business life cycle, stronger

competition has been experienced resulting in a threat to the

business’s market share.

Furthermore, troubles retaining its staff, existing mostly of

young, highly educated and mobile staff have been

experienced, resulting in high levels of staff turnover. A

strategic goal of Spatial Internet is to expand in the internet-

aided facility of e-commerce.

Funding options for E-commerce proposal

Funding for this venture could come through –

1. Owners Equity or Retained Profits : By reinvesting

this money into the business Spatial Internet will be

given the ability to finance its proposed e-commerce

facility.

2. Bank Loan: Through borrowing, mainly from financial

intermediaries such as banks, larger amounts of

finance will be made available to the business,

however the duration and interest rate charged for the

loan will have to be considered.

3. Leasing : As this business is computing and internet

related, they would have excess products. By selling

their equipment, such as the store’s computer (i.e.

office and business use, not those for sale), and then

renting them back, the business will receive an

immediate injection of money. This can, in turn, be

used to finance the business venture of e-commerce.

While the business already sells such products as

internet connection facilities, computers, modems and

other accessories, Spatial Internet is already

connected to the Internet with their own website. As

the business only needs to develop the order form

and online payment aspects of the website, fewer

costs are needed.

4. Overdraft : As Spatial Internet already has a

mortgage, an overdraft could be used as a fast and

effective initial injection of cash into the business in

order to fund the e-commerce prospect.

Of these options, leasing would probably prove to be the most

effective method, or by reinvesting retained profits of the

business.

Managing Change Strategies

ACHIEVING EFFECTIVE EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS

With its problem of high staff turnover, Spatial Internet needs

to carefully manage the proposed changes. The young, highly

educated and mobile staff feel that they are not appreciated to

their total value, and are thus leaving and seeking more

rewarding jobs. As young people, their lives are extremely

busy and they desire a flexible workplace.

Information given in the

question is used to

outline the situation the

business is in. 

You could also call the

introductory paragraph

to your business report

an Executive Summary.

Headings have been used to

organise the report. The

student has also used

numbering to organise

points on the options for

funding. 

It would have been best

for the student to have

defined

e-commerce in this

introduction to show

their understanding of

the term. 

The student could

have shown a more

advanced

understanding by

looking at these

options as being

either internal or

external sources of

funds, and short term

or long term. 

The student has not

simply listed or

described the types of

funding.

They have looked at the

strengths and

weaknesses of some of

the options. 

I have highlighted the

strengths in blue.

Weaknesses are in red.

The student could have

mentioned some more

strengths and

weaknesses. 

This is an excellent

way to tie this

section of the report

together. It finishes

with a sentence that

sums up the best

options. 

The student could have

added another option:



5. Change Legal Entity:

From a partnership to a

public company through

a share float to raise

extra capital to fund

e-commerce venture.

That’s why the

examiners mentioned

the business was a

‘partnership’ in the

question – to see if

students would pick up

on this other option.

The report uses business

terminology throughout. I

have highlighted some of

the good business terms in

pink. They help to make the

report sound more formal.



The student has used

phrases from the

question to organise

the report in a very

effective way. 

Similarly, staff overheard the proposed for e-commerce, and to

date, have not been informed by management. This

furthermore decreases their feelings of self-worth and

responsibility.

Strategies could include:

 Increasing Employee Responsibility

This will result in employees feeling wanted and useful in the

business. Specified areas could be delegated, for example:

Internet, Computing Packages. Training the staff will also

result in the employees being knowledgeable regarding the e-

commerce facilities, and thus reducing the risk of inertia

towards the change.

 Increased Financial Rewards

Staff could be provided with financial incentives, e.g. increased

pay, company car, shares in the business. As the possibility of

losing market share to competitors is evident, rewards and

benefits could be instigated. Thus, as profits increase, so do

the employee’s rewards. This will increase their sense of worth

in the business, decrease their likelihood of quitting from the

business, and thus, improve the employee relations.

 Non-Financial Rewards

Non-financial rewards could be given to staff members as a

strategy of enhancing working conditions, thus increasing

employee satisfaction, resulting in more effective employment

relations.

ACHIEVING EFFECTIVE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Through its proposal for using e-commerce, Spatial Internet

must ensure they abide by, and fulfill its social responsibility.

Spatial Internet has the social responsibilities of:

* Ensuring Safe Work Practices

Spatial Internet has the social responsibility of abiding by work

safety regulations, in order to ensure employee’s safety is not

compromised. For example, while implementing the e-

commerce facilities, employees’ safety must be ensured to

minimise their rate of illness or injury. While in a computer and

internet store, technology plays a vital role, however electrical

cords must be stored properly, and the floor free from

hinderous items.

* Providing Career Prospects for Employees

This strategy acts in the best interests of both employees and

employers. With a high rate of staff turnover, employees would

be more likely to continue working for Spatial Internet if career

prospects were evident. By increasing employee knowledge

and responsibility through training and division of labour,

employees will feel as if they are appreciated by the business

and will therefore reduce the high rate of staff turnover. This

social responsibility is not necessary however it does increase

the employee’s sense of self-worth and thus their willingness

to continue working at Spatial Internet. By providing the

employees with career prospects, the business in turn gain

decreased staff turnover.

It’s good to relate

your answer to the

business, but be

careful about

assuming or making

up details like this.



This is a good

example of relating

your answer to the

question. It is logical

to assume that this

business would have

areas such as Internet

services, Computing

Packages, etc. 

This time dot points or

bullets have been used

to organise this section.

Using a variety of

numbers, bullets,

asterixis, uppercase

letters and underlining

draws the markers

attention to the fact that

you are using the

‘report style’ of writing.



This point could have

been explained a little

further. By offering

financial rewards the

employees will have a

stronger stake in the

financial performance of

the business which will

motivate them to be

more productive, e.g.

offering an employee

share ownership scheme

(a possibility if legal

entity is changed from a

partnership to a public

company).

A strength of this report

is that the student keeps

relating their answer

back to the question by

using phrases actually

taken from the question.

The student mentioned

examples of financial

rewards but has not

mentioned any examples

of non-financial ones,

e.g. extra time off,

provision of childcare,

etc. 

‘Multi-skilling’ would

have been a better

business term to have

used here. This is where

employees are given

variety in their jobs. It

reduces boredom and

increases motivation

which would have tied

in well with the point

being made here about

trying to retain staff.

The question mentioned that Spatial Internet’s market share is under threat. A good way to

improve market share is to be more socially responsible than your competitors. It would have

been good for the student to have commented on this within this section on ‘Achieving

effective social responsibility’ – that way the hint in the question about market share would

have been included more effectively in this report.

The student should

ideally have mentioned

OH&S legislation here

to include more business

terminology in the

report. 

* Responsibility to the Environment

With e-commerce facilities, Spatial Internet will be responsible

for delivery of the items. By packaging the product in

cardboard boxes instead of polystyrene, ecological

sustainability is enhanced.

Report Summary

It is these prospects and options that are recommended for

your business, Spatial Internet.

Yours sincerely,

ABC Managing and Business Advice Company

A little more detail

about how the business

could be

environmentally

responsible would have

been good, 

e.g. only purchasing

computers from

companies that have

environmentally

responsible methods of

production themselves.

The student has brought the report to a

conclusion by noting that the points made in the

report are recommended for Spatial Internet. It

then finishes off just like a report, by using,

‘Yours sincerely,’ and by making up a pretend

name for a business advice company (in other

words a consultancy).  These companies are

the ones that mostly write business reports like

this one. Make up your own pretend name that

you can use in the HSC exam when you have to

write a business report of your own.

Another aspect of social

responsibility covered in

the BM&C topic is ‘E-

commerce’. Some

comment on this should

have been included since

this was a major concept in

the question. 

Points that could have

been included:

- consumers cannot

actually look at goods

advertised on the Internet,

they buy based on trust.

- Spatial Internet would

have to make sure that

their advertising is

accurate and not

misleading.

- the business would need

to ensure that paying by

credit card is secure and

that the privacy of

consumers is protected in

order to be socially

responsible.

Overall comments:

 This is a very good report considering it was written under

exam conditions.

 It is a borderline Band 5/Band 6 response. It would have

received a mark of about 17/20.

 The student clearly recognised what topic knowledge was

being tested in the question. The topics tested were:

- Business Management & Change

- Financial Planning & Management

- Employment Relations

 The answer uses 3

person narrative which is necessary in

a business report. The student has avoided using, ‘I’,

‘you’, ‘us’, ‘we’. That is why the report sounds formal and

professional in the way it is written.

 The answer could have mentioned more points, e.g. in the

options for funding section it could have been noted that,

“in managing change a business needs to be careful to

maintain the right balance of debt to equity finance.”

 However, for a report written under exam conditions it was

written in-depth and is well structured and easy to follow.

Another aspect of social

responsibility covered in

the Business Management

& Change topic is

‘Globalisation’. It would

have been good to have

included a another point

about this here, e.g. that

the business should not

purchase computer

hardware and equipment to

sell from companies that

make their products in

low-wage countries where

workers are exploited. A

sub-heading for this such

as ‘Responsible sourcing’

could have been used.