The point of a business report is to communicate information, or an opinion, and sometimes to persuade or convince. To do this effectively two keywords are brevity and clarity.

When you read some reports you wonder what they are trying to achieve. They are too long, too verbose, and too vague. When you get to end you wonder what was point of it. Don’t say in a hundred words what you can say in ten. It does not impress in a business environment. You are not trying to win literary prizes. You are trying to transfer information from one person to another. Don’t use flowery phrases when you can spell it out with short and simple words.

Don’t use jargon when it is not universally understood. Don’t use acronyms without an explanation. Explain all specialist terms and abbreviations. Use footnotes or an appendix if this helps to prevent breaking up flow.

Standardizing Quality Systems

The ISO, or International Organization for Standardization, was established in 1947 to develop international standards for everything from electronics to management systems. Having over 13,000 standards currently in place, ISO has created auditing and certification process known as ISO 9001. This began drive toward quality standards.

Improving Customer Satisfaction

Companies choose to implement ISO 9001 and get certified because many customers and industries require it. By keeping customers happy, they can increase sales and profitability for their business. And if an area of company’s program appears to be too bureaucratic and non-value-adding, then it might also be an area for continuous improvement efforts.

Enhancing Company Performance

Both customers and industries alike use ISO certification as a way to evaluate and audit their suppliers and products. Through an independent verification process, customers can gain assurance of their suppliers’ products. And as a supplier becomes certified, testing requirement is waved, which saves company both time and money.

Developing Best Practices