The Report

The sections and practical example

Research the report online

• See the UNSW Learning Centre video: Content here is taken from UNSW web site and adapted slightly.

• See: https://student.unsw.edu.au/academic-skills-development

• Components of a report• Report formats can differ, depending on the

needs of organisations. Usually, they have …

Report first three sections

• Abstract• In less than 200 words ... what was the problem, how was

it investigated, what did you find out and what recommendations have you made, based on your findings?

• Table of Contents• This is a list of the major and minor sections of your

report.• Introduction• Set the scene; give some background information about

the topic. State the aim/purpose of the investigation. Outline the body sections.

Report: next three sections

• Main Body• Organise the sections in a logical sequence: what you

investigated, what you found, what interpretations and what judgements you made. Use short, informative headings and subheadings.

• Conclusion• What has been achieved and what is the significance of your

findings and your discussion? Have your aims been successful or not?

• Recommendations• What do you recommend as a course of action following your

conclusion?

Report referencing

• References• A list of all the sources you used.

• Appendices• Any information (graphs, charts, tables or

other data) you used in your report but did not include in the body.

Abstracts, introductions and conclusions: what’s the difference?

• An abstract is a brief statement which outlines the report in full; what was done, achieved, decided and concluded.

• The introduction is a section which states your aims and some required background knowledge. An introduction will also outline the body of the report (where you state what you will do).

• Please don't confuse the introduction with the abstract or

summary; they are different and have different purposes. The common misconception is that one is simply a smaller version of the other (that the introduction is a rewritten, chopped-up version of the abstract). However, this is not the case.

The abstract• Most reports need an abstract, but they are generally more

important for technical reports or scientific documents.• An abstract is a succinct passage which provides a brief

outline of what was achieved/decided/concluded in your report.

• An abstract is placed on a separate page before the contents page.

• An abstract can be written last so that every bit of necessary detail is taken from the finished report.

• An abstract is one part of a report that will certainly be read by a client/assessor/manager. The rest of the report is read if more detail is required.

• An abstract is about half a page in length. Sometimes a word limit is given. This can range from 50-300 words.

Example of an abstractAbstract Parts of the abstract

A trailer rig was used to analyse the properties of an undamped system and experiment with a range of instrumentation. [1]

It was found that two modes of vibration exist, these being longitudinal vibration and rotational. The damping ratio and natural frequency were calculated and are included in this report. The damping was found to be linear. [2]

While the experiment was useful it did not closely resemble road conditions. Actual road conditions would result in successive bumps and constant vibration while the wheels rotated the whole time. [3]

Finally, it was decided that the XY plotter provided accurate results and manageable data. [4]

[1] Setup procedure [2] Initial findings [3]Conclusions [4]Recommendations

The Introduction

The aim of an introduction is to state what you have been asked to achieve and list your current of course of action.

Introduction: Example Introduction Parts of introduction

Machinery and equipment in industry is heated up and brought on line gradually to avoid problems generated by thermal generated stresses. [1]

In this experiment the severity of stress due to sudden temperature changes is examined. [2]

[1] Background [2] Aim; it is not necessary to outline everything in an introduction to a report. Be succinct!

The Conclusion• The conclusion (along with the introduction and abstract) is

generally the section most read by clients. If you can conclude your work /findings well, you facilitate your client’s understanding of your work’s significance, your achievements and whether your aims have been successful or not. Even in the face of failure, e.g. your experiments do not work, a proper conclusion would demonstrate an understanding of what you achieved. Here is how to do that:

• Note the shortcomings and pitfalls of the methods and/or equipment used

• State your findings from the analysis of your data• Outline possible recommendations (e.g. provide suggestions for

further research). Recommendations may form a separate heading if substantial.

Example of the conclusionConclusion

The results of the damping coefficient and the natural frequency of the system are fairly consistent given the small amount of data given and how prone this method is to error. [1] In looking at the data provided by the pointer and scale it is surprising that the results were so consistent. The equipment was difficult to use and read, and not really adequate for this type of testing. [1] The LVDT transducer provided clear results for the XY plotter and the digital oscilloscope, both providing graphs that were very clear. I recommend the use of the XY plotter over the digital oscilloscope due to their difference in price ($4000 for a XY plotter and $7000 for a digital oscilloscope). The XY plotter does not require the use of a computer and printer to get it into a hard copy form where the data can be analysed. [2]

[1] Findings and what is achieved [2] Recommendations

A note of caution

• Do not use your abstract to write your conclusion or vice versa as the reader will believe you have not put enough thought into why you are doing your work. Remember the abstract, introduction and conclusion have different purposes, different emphasis and different structures.

Real life example

• We will look at part of an assessment task in Corporate Governance and see how the theory works – you will see a challenge for us right near the beginning.

The Task

• Assume you have been engaged as a corporate governance consultant to a board of directors of a public company listed on the stock exchange. Your assignment is to prepare a report to be submitted to the Chairman of the board explaining and discussing the roles, duties and responsibilities of the company’s directors. Your report should contain specific recommendations on the roles of non-executive directors and the management of their relationship with executive directors and shareholders. The Chairman has specifically indicated that she intends to make your report available to shareholders of the company and that the document will be published on the company’s web site.

Context

• What’s really going on?• Board wants to assure shareholders that

company is well run and that risks are minimised – good PR exercise for company: We are so concerned about securing the best returns for you that we have commissioned a detailed report to show how diligent we are.

Background• Shareholders are conscious of bad things that have happened

at other companies because the board did not do its duty.• Bad things: [DON’T USE THESE WORDS – ALARMIST ] Crooked directors / illegal practice Company bankruptcy – bad management;

dangers not foreseen or counteracted High-risk decisions – bad outcomes; share

prices dive; DISASTER

Foreseen outcome

• Shareholders will be greatly reassured by the report

+ the company might learn some valuable things+ board members resisting change will be forced to accept it+ company will conform to highly regulated corporate structure in Australian

Your job

• Report accurately and sensitively (don’t scare shareholders – use softening jargon)

• Stress that company is doing many things right already – checks and balances are in place

• Identify a few tightening up procedures – set more checks and balances to match extreme diligence of the times

Softening jargon – humorous examples

• Crooked boss – CEO’s performance did not match minimal compliance standards

• Trading when insolvent – conducting normal business in a situation of non-optimal cash flow trajectory

• Share-price plummet – short-term negative return on investment

• Lost almost all their money – negative investment experience

Be careful though!

• Task says the shareholder needs to understand what you are talking about

• BALANCE BETWEEN softening jargon and understandable English

ExampleDiction too blunt & alarmist

Diction softened, understandable & reasonably honest

Diction too jargonised, generalised and evasive / dishonest

The CEO was a crook. The CEO misappropriated funds and was found to be in violation of regulatory requirements.

The CEO’s performance did not match minimal compliance standards.

The company traded when insolvent.

The company was alleged to have conducted business when unable to meet its financial obligations.

The company conducted normal business in a situation of non-optimal cash flow trajectory.

The share price was in freefall – it plummeted.

The share price dropped to its lowest level for several months.

There was a short-term negative return on investments.

Shareholders took an absolute battering.

Shareholders did not receive a divided.

Shareholders underwent a negative investment experience.

Report structure

• Executive summary

• The background

• Risks to be addressed

• Recommendations to minimise risk

What the …???!!!

• Don’t panic!• Executive summary = abstract• Background = introduction• Risks = body (with research component)• Recommendations = recommendations

Terminology might differ but the idea remains the same

FLOW OF REPORT

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY – WHAT REPORT SAYS

BACKGROUND – WHY A REPORT?

RISKS IDENTIFIED IN BACKGROUND SECTION

USE DIRECTORS (ESP. NON-EXECTIVE) TO FIX RISKS & PLUG GAPS IN GOVERNANCE SYSTEM

Keep relating back to question

• Keep in sight the need to:explain and discuss the roles, duties and responsibilities of the company’s directors. Your report should contain specific recommendations on the roles of non-executive directors and the management of their relationship with executive directors and shareholders

Coming Next: Quick example of the report

• This is a truncated example; you are required to do a lot more research than your lazy presenter – who, anyway, has already completed his studies!

Executive summary

Date: 6 July 20151. Executive summary1.1 This is my report to the board of AAS (Australian Amalgamated Steel) as commissioned by the board in December 2014.1.2 The report was commissioned as part of the duty of the board to implement ongoing internal appraisals of corporate governance.

Executive summary continued

• 1.3 AAS’s good record notwithstanding, the company acknowledges ongoing shareholder concern regarding corporate governance

• 1.4 This concern is recognised to be part of a general stakeholder concern relating to corporate governance in the wake of a number of high-profile corporate failures where such failures were deemed unthinkable (Enron in the USA being the prime example)

Executive summary continued

• 1.5 This report documents the major issues of stakeholder concern, worldwide, and then examines our Australian context.

• 1.6 At its core, the report examines the role of ASS directors in relation to the exercising of proper checks and balances in order to reassure shareholders that it is highly aware of examples of maladministration elsewhere and has policies in place to obviate the occurrence of any untoward development.

Executive summary concluded

• 1.7 This report finds that current corporate governance strategies at ASS are well-considered and adequate.

• 1.8 In a few areas where checks and balances are minimally adequate, a number of new measures are recommended to “tighten the screws”. In this regard, new regulatory portfolios are suggested for specific board members

• 1.9 My most substantial finding, which is in line with the UK Corporate Governance code, is that non-executive directors should play a far more hands-on role in corporate governance (https://www.frc.org.uk/Our-Work/Codes-Standards/Corporate-governance/UK-Corporate-Governance-Code.aspx; accessed 2 July, 2015).

Have you noticed?

• Reports don’t use normal paragraphs• Headings are nice things > not in essays• Point form = good > not in essays• Short and to the point = good > not in essays

Therefore, reports are not essays!

Background2.0 BackgroundRemember that this section follows from the previous one and so you need to link backwards to the previous section and then link forward towards the identification of risks.

You don’t want this section to be long – cut to the chase:

AS STATED IN THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (T1.4) there have been a number of highly visible corporate misadventures reported in the media over the last two decades

Business involves risk and success stories will be balanced by poor performance by some companies. However, what is at issue here is more than poor performance – we are dealing with a disturbing failure to exercise proper checks and balances.

This has been accompanied by extraordinary complacency in some quarters – board members “take their eye off the ball” because they assume that things will go along as always; this is wrong – the world changes, markets change, consumers change; novelty can outweigh static dependability

ASS commissions reports like this to “keep its eye on the ball”

Background concluded

• LINK TO NEXT SECTION Areas of risk have been identified in the global context:

• High-risk strategies not challenged by board members • Wrong assessment of economic data – analytical weakness• Unprofitable acquisitions – drain on resources• CEO accumulates too much power• Big-name directors – sense of complacency• Poor auditing procedures• Shareholder apathy• Off-balance-sheet liabilities hidden in financial statements• Non-executive directors not involved in company affairs

BODY: RISKS ASSESSED IN COMPANY CONTEXT

Global risk Applicable at AAS Whose responsibility?High-risk strategies not challenged (Barings Bank)

Potential risk Whole board and non-executive board members

Wrong assessment of data (One.Tel)

Potential risk CEO, Board member overseeing Finance Dept. + NEBM

Unprofitable acquisitions (HIH Insurance)

Problem CEO, Board member overseeing Acquisitions Dept. + NEBM; find a solution

CEO – too much power (Madoff Invest. Securities)

Potential Risk Board and non-executive board members

Big-name directors cause complacency (One Tel)

Not the case N/A

Poor auditing procedures(Harris Scarfe Ltd.)

Potential Risk CEO, Director of Finance + NEBM

Shareholder apathy (Enron; One.Tel)

Problem Find a solution

Liabilities hidden in annual report (Enron)

Potential Risk CEO, Financial Director, Accounts Manager + NEBM

Non-exec directors absent (HIH) Problem Find a solution

Put into Report format

• Example:3.7 The example of One.Tel, in Australia, shows clearly that shareholders paid minimal attention to company policy and not even major shareholders scrutinised annual reports or other published financial indicators from the company. Shareholder meetings were poorly attended. (Hebditch 2013, p. 55). This is evidence of how detrimental to a company shareholder apathy can be.

Research

• In the risk section – simplified in the chart – you have a chance to demonstrate the depth of your research. A brief outline of each case study will highlight the risk involved.

• Notable example on the next page.

Madoff’s Ponzi Scheme

• Investment guru Bernie Madoff, whose board members were his family, ran an illegal Ponzi scheme. It collapsed with the GFC.

Thousands of unsuspecting celebrity investors lost money, like … film-maker, Steven Spielberg

Damn!

RecommendationsIdentified Risk Situation at AAS RecommendHigh risk strategies not challenged

Must guard against this. Non-executive directors to form an approval committee to inspect all new strategies, and identify reservations for board discussion.

Wrong assessment of economic data

Not an immediate worry, but put check in place.

One appointed NED to inspect financial reports monthly.

Unprofitable acquisitions Deal with immediately Director of Acquisitions to oversee stripping of assets and sale of unprofitable acquisitions

CEO too much power Not an immediate worry, but put check in place.

CEO to review strategies with NED 3-man sub-committee quarterly

Poor auditing procedures Must guard against. Director of Finance to bring highly reputable firm into auditing rotation policy procedure.

Shareholder apathy Must be countered. Agency of principal shareholders to meet NED twice annually. Director of Communications to create shareholder web site

Liabilities hidden in annual report

Not an immediate worry, but put check in place.

One appointed NED to oversee compilation of annual report.

NEDs not involved. Must change. See above.

Put into report format

• Example:• 4.5 To guard against the risk of the CEO exercising

power without proper restraint, it is recommended that the CEO attend a mandatory quarterly review of strategies with a three-man non-executive directors’ committee, to be chaired by the board chairman (a NED member). This would provide a significant check since the CEO would need to defend any decisions unilaterally taken.