Administrative and management activities in the modern world are growing in a complex environment. Organizations need accurate and up-to-date information to formulate their future course of action. Policy formation is neither possible nor practicable in the absence of information; and to meet this objective, senior executives/policy makers require the latest information to devise appropriate strategies to improve organizational performance. An efficient and highly professional management usually obtains periodic reports. Therefore, it can be stated that the report is an integral part of the MIS (Management Information System).

A report is a fair, objective, and direct presentation of facts to one or more recipients to serve a predetermined business objective. It is a submission of facts and circumstances derived from functions of investigation, inspection, experience, investigation, survey, interview and the like. The presentation of reality is the password here.

Report Types

Broadly speaking, we can classify the reports into three categories:

regular reports

These are prepared by the establishments on a daily, weekly, quarterly, monthly, semi-annual or annual basis to present information on sales, income, credit, status or performance of the company.

Special Purpose Reports

Also known as formal reports, they are written to describe or explain a program, event, or investigation.

news reports

These are generally written about matters of public interest, events and happenings, etc. News reports can be categorized into two broad types, direct news reports and investigative reports. The first is the systematic representation of what has happened, in a simple, objective and direct way. The report does not draw any conclusions or offer any opinions here. The latter is an in-depth report. It discusses every minute details of the topic and reflects investigative journalism.

Importance of the report

In the modern business scenario, reports play an important role in the progress of business. Reporting is the backbone of the store’s thought process and is largely responsible for the evolution of an efficient or inefficient work environment. The importance of reports include:

The reports present adequate information on various aspects of the business.
All the skills and knowledge of professionals are communicated through reports.
The reports help the top line in decision making.
A true and balanced report also helps in problem solving.
Reports communicate planning, policies, and other matters related to an organization to the masses.
News reports play the role of ombudsman and impose checks and balances on the establishment.