The writing part of the test requires the production of a short report (240-250 words). Make sure that your cover all points (usually four) of the task. Consider the “balance’ of your answer. Some parts of the question may require a brief answer, others may need more detail. Before writing a report ask yourself what the purpose of the task is, whom you are writing to and what your role is. Do not use too much language of the task.

Usually, a report has a title, is divided into sections, each section has a heading.

Essentially, a report is a short, sharp, concise document which is written for a particular purpose and audience. It generally sets outs and analyses a situation or problem, often making recommendations for future action. It is a factual paper, and needs to be clear and well-structured.

Reports are written with much analysis. The purpose of report writing is essential to inform the reader about a topic, minus one’s opinion on the topic. It’s simply a portrayal of facts, as it is. In many cases, what’s required is your suggestions for a specific case after a factual report. That depends on why and to whom are you writing the report. Knowing your audience’s motive for asking for that report is very important as it sets the course of the facts focused in your writing.

In academia there is some overlap between reports and essays, and the two words are sometimes used interchangeably, but reports are more likely to be needed for business, scientific and technical subjects, and in the workplace.

Whereas an essay presents arguments and reasoning, a report concentrates on facts.

Essays	Report Writing
Presents information and opinions	Presents facts and information specifically, no opinions
Written for everyone in general	Written for a specific audience, a report concerns itself to only a certain set of people related
The structure is casually flowing in paragraphs	The structure is very crisp and clean, using pointers and numbered headings and sub-headings
Essays usually have room for expression of one’s opinions, need not be supported with graphical proofs	Using tables, graphs, charts to prove a point is very common
An essay has a logical flow of thoughts but no need of a summary	A report often needs a quick summary addressing highlighting points
Doesn’t have an appendices	Often has appendices
Both essay and report writing need formal writing, analytical thinking, solid reasoning behind every conclusion, careful reading and neat presentation, but a report-writing layout is very different from essay writing	Crisp, often pre-designed layouts

 

Structure of the report.

Introduction, body, conclusion and recommendations.

Possible start:

DATE: March 24, 2018
TO: Mr. Siddhartha Malik
FROM: Jeena Claudette, Marketing team, XYZ company

SUBJECT: ….

 

The same information may be presented in the Introduction:

This report, written by …., position ( e.g. Head of …) , to be submitted to … the …. (e.g. Chief Executive), recommends … (e.g. setting up an internal audit department for … ).

This part introduces the reader to your report, sets the purpose in place and broadly plates out the content of your entire document. To put it differently, the  introduction sets out what you plan to say and provides a brief summary of the problem under discussion. It should also touch briefly on your conclusions.

The main body of the report should be carefully structured in a way that leads the reader through the issue. You should split it into sections using numbered sub-headings relating to themes or areas for consideration. For each theme, you should aim to set out clearly and concisely the main issue under discussion and any areas of difficulty or disagreement. All the information that you present should be related back to the task and the precise subject under discussion.

Throughout your report, keep breaking points and starting off a new logical thought with a numbered sub-heading or at least use subheadings and paragraphing.

A conclusion ties up all the information written before, sets out what inferences you draw from the information, including any experimental results if any. It may include recommendations, or these may be included in a separate section.

Recommendations suggest how you think the situation could be improved, and should be specific, achievable and measurable. If your recommendations have financial implications, you should set these out clearly, with estimated costs if possible.

Long reports also include a summary, to be put on the top of the report, which should contain (a) the purpose of the report, (b) what you did (analysis) and what you found (results), and (c) your recommendations. These recommendations should be short and not go beyond a page. BUT this is not our case.

 

Writing style.

When writing a report, your aim should be to be absolutely clear. Above all, it should be easy to read and understand, even to someone with little knowledge of the subject area. You should therefore aim for crisp, precise text, using plain English, and shorter words rather than longer, with short sentences.

Use formal writing style. Flowery language should not be used. You should also avoid jargon. If you have to use specialist language, you may need to replace some of it with simpler words or explain certain words you use. Some reports include glossaries.

Consider your audience. If the report is designed to be written for a particular person, check whether you should be writing it to ‘you’ or perhaps in the third person to a job role: ‘The Chief Executive may like to consider…’, or ‘The minister is recommended to agree…’, for example.

As with any academic assignment or formal piece of writing, your work will benefit from being read over again and edited ruthlessly for sense and style.

Pay particular attention to whether all the information that you have included is relevant. Also remember to check tenses, which person you have written in, grammar and spelling. It’s also worth one last check against any requirements on structure.

Read more at: https://www.skillsyouneed.com/write/report-writing.html

Use positive words (he was poor) rather than negative ones (he was not rich — the reader at once wants to know, how not rich was he?)

 

Use the active voice (“Police took no action”) rather than the passive voice (“No action was taken”).

 

Useful verb and phrases which can be used in report titles:

 Investigating X

 Calculating X

 Measuring X

 Demonstrating X

 Analysing X

 Determining X

 An Investigation into X

 A Demonstration of X

 An Analysis of X

 

Aims

If you are referring to the report, you should use present tense. If you are referring to the experiment, which has finished, you should use past tense.

 

The aim/purpose/objective of this report is firstly to	research [sth] discover [wh-] investigate/find out [sth or wh-] measure [sth]
A second/third/final aim (of the report) is to
The aim/purpose/objective of the experiment was to
The experiment aimed to

 

Example :

The aim of this report is to investigate whether class size has a significant effect on student achievement.

 

There is not much language for conclusions, though conclusion signals such as ‘In conclusion’ are useful.

Recommendations can use the following modal verb constructions

 

X should	[verb]
it is recommended that X

Examples, using the above structures, are given below.

 Based on the conclusions above, it is recommended that the company consider paying more attention to above-the-line promotion in order to attract new customers.

 Further research should be carried out to find out if these opinions are true in other market segments.

 

The formal and impersonal nature of reports can be achieved by avoiding certain types of language such as slang terms and contractions (didn’t, won’t etc) as well as strong expressions of opinion and attitude. Scientific and technical reports often include passive forms instead of subject pronouns like “I” and “you”, but for business reports you can write more simply and directly.

Some examples of expressions you may use in your report include:

 This report aims to investigate…
 This report was commissioned to review…
 This research indicates…
 The results suggest…
 It can be concluded that…
 Conclusions that can be drawn are…
 It recommends that…
 The following recommendations are made…

 

Use linking words

Words and phrases like “Therefore”, “However”, “For this reason”, etc. help your reader follow your ideas.

 

Language bank:

Linking ideas. Writing in lists:

Firstly, secondly, thirdly, to begin with

Next, then, after that, finally, lastly

 

Giving examples

For example, for instance, namely

In particular, particularly, especially, mainly, chiefly

In other words, … that is to say, …

 

Expressing alternatives

On the one hand…, on the other hand …

Alternatively, rather, one alternative is …

Another possibility is …, Another way of liking at this is …

By contrast, in comparison, on the contrary

 

Expressing the same idea in a different way

To put it simply

In other words, … In this case …

In view of this …

Looking at this another way …

 

Adding more information

Besides, also, moreover, furthermore, in addition …

Further, what is more, above all, as well as …

Either , neither …nor, not only … but also …

In the same way, similarly, indeed,

Regarding, as for, with respect to …

In reality, in theory, in fact

 

Model report writing task

Your client is considering outsourcing some of its internal accounting and bookkeeping and would like some general advice in relation to this. In a brief report, give the client some initial advice on the two of the following points and explain what information you would need to take on these tasks.

 Handling cashflow

 Management accounting

 Preparing forecasts/budgets

 Dealing with payroll

 

Write 200-250 words in an appropriate style.

 

Model answer.

Report

Subject: Outsourcing of management accounting and payroll

Management accounts are the primary source of information which businesses and organizations use to run their operations and plan for the future. However, many small and medium-sized businesses do not have the necessary in-house resources or capabilities to produce this invaluable source of management information.

Handing over the task of preparing management accounts tour firm will not only provide you with improved quality of financial reporting and management information, but at the same time, you will be confident that you are fully compliant with the relevant financial reporting standards and regulations.

Additionally we can help to improve your finance staff’s knowledge of the key aspects of financial reporting standards. Although the main aim of management accounts is to provide an accurate picture of business and financial performance, we can tailor the report to meet your specific needs. For example, we can incorporate actual performance versus budgeted performance, cash projections and key performance indicators.

Processing payroll in-house is another activity which requires a significant investment of employee time and can prove costly. Even the most experienced and HR professionals would agree that dealing with a payroll can be a headache. Outsourcing payroll is an affordable way for many businesses to remove the complications. We can provide you with a fully managed outsourced payroll service. We can also provide payroll healthchecks to ensure that your payroll processes, procedures, systems and tax calculations are efficient, reliable and compliant with legal and statutory obligations.

 

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More sophisticated report writing tasks.

You work for an accountancy firm and one of your clients is a small airline. This airline is considering purchasing a new aircraft within the next twelve months to expand its operations. The airline has asked your firm for advice concerning this purchase and you have considered the airline’s financial position.

Write a report for the airline. Your report should:

• explain which internal financial indicators most accurately show the financial

position of this airline

• summarise the airline’s current financial position

• outline what risks there would be in expansion

• advise the airline on what steps to take next.

Write your answer in 200 с 250 words in an appropriate style.

 

Model answers

  An example of a bad report

After the analysis basic on your requirement, we do some related explanation as follow.

According to your balance sheet, we found your assets is enough to afford the first period of expansion.

But that’s not enough to say you have the ability to expand. The current liability ratio, benifit to assets ratio and the cash flow index should be took into your consideration. The current liability ratio shows whether you can afford the payment, the benifit to assets ratio shows whether it’s worth to do so and the cash flow index will add help to your decision. The special analysis data is on the attach paper. We want to say is just as long as the data you provide to us is true that you can expand.

In the expansion there are risks. Firstly you need to put more money on your advertisment fees which will decline your benifit. Secondly, even you do more advertisment your passages will not increase in that case you will face an empty plan. Thirdly, the added plan will carry which course will effect your current operation. The strategy and your rival should also be took into account. You have to adjust your current

strategy, to focus on more widely part to get more benifit. Meanwhile you should have a clear idea what your rivals have done to avoid clash.

If you do decide to expand, the first primary thing to do is decide how to use the new planes. You need a special plan of it and adjust your strategy corrently. Only when you do so, you can get the largest benefit from your expansion.

Hope your expansion will achieve a success result!

3 points.

Although the main points in the question have been addressed and there is evidence of organisation, this is not an adequate answer because the number of errors cause difficulty for the reader and the meaning is often unclear. There are frequent errors in word choice, some poor control of basic grammatical structures and repeated spelling errors. The range of structures is limited and at times repetitive. The tone of the report is often too informal and the ending is inappropriate.

 

 An example of a satisfactory report

On your previous request I am writing the summary report on the new aircraft purchase.

First of all, I would like to mention that your financial situation is considerable better than 6 months ago. All financial indicators (margins, assets, cash flow, return on capital employed, liabilities etc.) appear to be at standard level.

 I can’t see any issues to bring one more aircraft in your assets. We should get a loan covering 50% of value within 3 months. Then we will capitalise it as standard item. Secondly we have to assume all risks on this decision.

 However your finance situation is good the competitors becoming stronger. You must be sure your aircraft is fully used and bring money immediately.

 I suggest to prepare a feasibility study just to make sure. You already know there will be a new policy about stricter technical controlls next year. And this will definitely bring additional costs. We have to assume the oil prices as well which are projected to be higher next year. According my calculation both these factors will increase the current costs by 11%.

Thirdly, I just recommend the next steps you should work on. Please, provide any relevant information that can assict your decision in buying new aircraft. Of course do not forget to make proper analysis – competitors, SWOT etc. These all will be a part for a loan request.

To sum up I can’t see any difficulties from your financial position and if all non-financial aspects are considered then you can expand your business without worries.

You can find a financial analysis attached. There you can find all necessary performance indicators.

5 points

This is an adequate attempt at the task with all the necessary points included, although there is some lack of clarity in parts. The answer is suitably paragraphed but the use and control of cohesive devices is not always correct and confuses the reader at times. The range of vocabulary is adequate with some attempt to use financial terminology, although the word choice lacks precision at times. Sentence structure is mostly simple and there are some errors, mostly non-impeding, however. The answer is generally too informal in tone and the ending is rather abrupt.

 

 

An example of a good report

 

Subject: Report on the factors that need to be considered before purchasing a new aircraft

 

In response to your request for advice on the factors to consider deciding to expand your operations by purchasing a new aircraft, we forward the following points.

In the first place, the company needs to assess the market conditions in which the company is going to expand its operations in. To this effect, it needs to carry out a thorough marketing study.

It should also look into its financial strength in terms of affording to purchase the aircraft including its capacity to win the willingness of financers to extend borrowings. To this effect you need to show the strength of your financial position by preparing analysis supported by financial indicators such as good quick and current ratios, good debt to equity ratios and also appealing return on assets ratios. From our experience,

all these ratios in your accounts are in good shape to warrant obtaining fresh loan for the purchase of the aircrafts.

It is also necessary to look into the risks you might face:

• the management capabilities to handle an

expanded business may become overstretched.

Therefore you need to look into this now.

• Possible working capital problems may result from the expansion of the business under capitalisation.

As a next step you need also to start looking for sources of finance i.e lenders and also to look into the legal and regulatory issues and requirements that may influence your decision.

Finally we would like to express our willingness to avail ourselves at your convenience to explain all the points in more detail.

7 points

This is a reasonable realisation of the task. All the necessary points have been addressed and developed quite well in the report and it is well organised with effective use of simple cohesive devices and bullet points for clarity. There is an adequate range of vocabulary, including some appropriate financial terms, although there is also some repetition and awkwardness because of incorrect word choice. There are occasional lapses in register and some errors, mainly nonimpeding.

 

 

An example of an excellent report

 

Cost benefit analysis of the company purchasing a new aircraft

The investment in a new aircraft requires the analysis of various factors influencing both the airline and the industry.

Financial position of the airline

The airline’s current situation, based on its profitability and liquidity, must be secure. Useful internal financial indicators include the capital utilisation ratio (return on capital employed) and the retained earnings figure. The company’s ROE (return on equity) is 15%, above average in the sector. The company’s current liquidity ratio is 1.5 and places the company in a good bargaining position when negotiating long-term loans.

The risks of expansion

The airline could face problems in an industry which is very competitive. A new aircraft would mean more provision of services and also increased maintenance costs and fuel. The airline staff must be able to cope with the administration and servicing of an additional aircraft. The risks here are substantial since besides the financial investment in an aircraft, the airline may need increased staff for the new workload.

Next steps

This report is an advisory one. The next steps in decision making should take into consideration the above mentioned points and also assess the economic climate in which the airline is operating before investing in a new asset. The airline must consider the means of financing this expansion as, although a loan could be appropriate, the interest charges and other costs could be a burden on the financial affairs of the business.

10 points

This is a full realisation of the task demonstrating confident use of language and effective control of complex structures. The points in the report are relevant and well developed. The report is organised logically with headings to ensure the information is conveyed clearly. There is a wide range of vocabulary including financial terms and generally good control of collocation. The register is consistently appropriate and this answer would have a very positive effect on the target reader.

 

TASK 4. You work for a consultancy firm specializing in accounting and auditing. Write a report to a client how your company can set a sound internal audit department for the management of a medium-sized furniture manufacturer. In your report you should explain:

 the importance of having an internal audit department

 the connection between internal and external accounting

 how management accounts would assist the company in monitoring its performance

 what kind of training managers would need to benefit from this facility

TASK 5.

You work for an accountancy firm and one of your clients is a textile manufacturer. This newly-formed domestic textile manufacturer wants to expand its business and has applied for a loan. The board is concerned about the terms of the loan. They have asked your firm for advice concerning the ways for the company to get the necessary capital and achieve its goals and you have considered the textile manufacturer’s financial position.

Write a report for the textile manufacturer. Your report should:

 explain which financial indicators are mostly close considered when assessing the financial position of the company applying for a loan

 summarise their current financial position

 outline problems that borrowing may lead to

 offer alternative ways of raising the necessary capital

 

Write your answer in 200 to 250 words in an appropriate style.