How to Structure a Business Report

A formal business report can be structured in the following manner:

Title Page

This page carries the title of the report along with the writer’s name, date and other details if required.

Contents

This lists the various sections of the report.

Synopsis

This is an introduction to the report and includes a summary of what is to be expected in the report and what the report explores. You can specify your objectives and planning ideas here.

Terms of Reference

List down who the report is meant for and what it is about. E.g. For the Fashion Trends Board
Procedure: List the details of your research. You must specify whether it was primary research, secondary research or both. Also mention the exact tools that were used to collect the data. For example, questionnaires, telephonic interviews etc.

Detailed Findings

This section will typically show pie charts, bar graphs and other statistics found out from your research.

Conclusions

Summarize your findings in detail. The implications of the findings will be discussed in the next stage.

Recommendations

You will now suggest solutions, ideas or recommendations based on your findings. Stick to brief paragraphs and crisp pointers.

Appendices

This section is for reference. You can add additional charts and graphs, sample questionnaires and so on.

Bibliography

List all of the references used for the report – websites, newspapers, books, journals, documentaries, movies etc. This usually appears in alphabetical order.