Reports are of various types. They could be big or small, individual or group, routine or special, formal or informal, interim or final. An illustrative list of various kinds of business reports is presented below:
1. Routine reports such as monthly report, performance report, review report and press report
2 Research reports, survey reports and special reports
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3. Enquiry reports and Investigation reports
4. Confidential reports
5. Information reports and Analytical reports
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6. Technical reports
7. Directors’ reports
8. Annual reports
9. Committee reports
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Viewed from another angle, reports can also be classified/as either individual reports or group/committee reports or interim and final reports. While individual reports may be drafted or written by the person concerned, other reports submitted by study groups, working groups and committees are written with the help of la specialized team or a secretariat.
Further, whenever the subject coverage, or terms of reference are such that fact finding and detailed presentation is likely to take a long time, interim reports are submitted by the groups or committees.
Each of these types of reports has its own characteristics and the report writer should learn to present the report in its appropriate format. Some of the routine reports such as review report, progress report, survey report or credit report may even have a regular printed format in organizations which call for them on a frequent or periodic basis.
As far as the other types of reports are concerned, the report writer, in consultation with the authorities concerned, should structure the report to bring out all relevant facts and figures in their proper perspective.