When thinking about what it takes to have a successful career in business, things like having good planning, people, and leadership skills probably come to mind. However, you might be surprised to hear that writing is one of the most important skills to have if you want a lasting career in business. Whether it is an internal email memo to staff, an external report to shareholders, a slide presentation for clients, or a training manual for staff, all of these things need to be clear, easy to understand, and appropriate for their audience, and all of those things can only happen through good, solid writing.

Good writing is so central to doing well in business that some of the most successful companies hire people whose only job is to write their internal and external communication. One piece of writing that you will be asked to do in certain business courses is called a "business report". These kinds of papers, or reports, carefully analyze the financial status of a company or organization, explain the factors behind its status, project possible future financial outcomes or changes, and then propose a course of action, such as reinvestment or a new investment. These papers can follow traditional academic format and style, or they can look more like a business proposal and presentation.  Watch the videos below to learn more about business reports.


  • Video 1: How to write a business report (1 of 10)
  • Video 2: What to include in the main body of your report (6 of 10)


Sources: 

Excelsior Online Writing Lab (OWL), https://owl.excelsior.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/01/Investment-Analysis-Simply-Good-Foods-Company.pdf
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Aleksej Heinze, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEd7q__M2Vg, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSdSnBgWi1Q
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.