Reports Parts, Types, Feasibility Reports

A report is a document that presents information in an organized format for a specific audience and purpose. Although summaries of reports may be delivered orally, complete reports are almost always in the form of written documents.

The significance of the reports includes:

• Reports present adequate information on various aspects of the business.
• All the skills and the knowledge of the professionals are communicated through reports.
• Reports help the top line in decision making.
• A rule and balanced report also help in problem solving.
• Reports communicate the planning, policies and other matters regarding an organization to the masses. News reports play the role of ombudsman and levy checks and balances on the establishment.

Structure of a report

A typical report would include the following sections in it:

• Title page
• Executive summary
• Table of contents
• Introduction
• Discussion or body
• Conclusion
• Recommendations
• Reference list
• Appendices

1. Formal or Informal Reports:

Formal reports are carefully structured; they stress objectivity and organization, contain much detail, and are written in a style that tends to eliminate such elements as personal pronouns. Informal reports are usually short messages with natural, casual use of language. The internal memorandum can generally be described as an informal report.

2. Short or Long Reports:

This is a confusing classification. A one-page memorandum is obviously short, and a twenty-page report is clearly long. But where is the dividing line? Bear in mind that as a report becomes longer (or what you determine as long), it takes on more characteristics of formal reports.

3. Informational or Analytical Reports:

Informational reports (annual reports, monthly financial reports, and reports on personnel absenteeism) carry objective information from one area of an organization to another. Analytical reports (scientific research, feasibility reports, and real-estate appraisals) present attempts to solve problems.

4. Proposal Report:

The proposal is a variation of problem-solving reports. A proposal is a document prepared to describe how one organization can meet the needs of another. Most governmental agencies advertise their needs by issuing “requests for proposal” or RFPs. The RFP specifies a need and potential suppliers prepare proposal reports telling how they can meet that need.

5. Vertical or Lateral Reports:

This classification refers to the direction a report travels. Reports that more upward or downward the hierarchy are referred to as vertical reports; such reports contribute to management control. Lateral reports, on the other hand, assist in coordination in the organization. A report traveling between units of the same organization level (production and finance departments) is lateral.

6. Internal or External Reports:

Internal reports travel within the organization. External reports, such as annual reports of companies, are prepared for distribution outside the organization.

7. Periodic Reports:

Periodic reports are issued on regularly scheduled dates. They are generally upward directed and serve management control. Preprinted forms and computer-generated data contribute to uniformity of periodic reports.

8. Functional Reports:

This classification includes accounting reports, marketing reports, financial reports, and a variety of other reports that take their designation from the ultimate use of the report. Almost all reports could be included in most of these categories. And a single report could be included in several classifications.

Although authorities have not agreed on a universal report classification, these report categories are in common use and provide a nomenclature for the study (and use) of reports. Reports are also classified on the basis of their format. As you read the classification structure described below, bear in mind that it overlaps with the classification pattern described above.

1. Preprinted Form:

Basically for “fill in the blank” reports. Most are relatively short (five or fewer pages) and deal with routine information, mainly numerical information. Use this format when it is requested by the person authorizing the report.

Letter:

Common for reports of five or fewer pages that are directed to outsiders. These reports include all the normal parts of a letter, but they may also have headings, footnotes, tables, and figures. Personal pronouns are used in this type of report.

Memo:

Common for short (fewer than ten pages) informal reports distributed within an organization. The memo format of “Date,” “To,” “From,” and “Subject” is used. Like longer reports, they often have internal headings and sometimes have visual aids. Memos exceeding ten pages are sometimes referred to as memo reports to distinguish them from shorter ones.

Manuscript:

Common for reports that run from a few pages to several hundred pages and require a formal approach. As their length increases, reports in manuscript format require more elements before and after the text of the report. Now that we have surveyed the different types of reports and become familiar with the nomenclature, let us move on to the actual process of writing the report.

Feasibility Reports

A feasibility study is an assessment of the practicality of a proposed project or system. A feasibility study aims to objectively and rationally uncover the strengths and weaknesses of an existing business or proposed venture, opportunities and threats present in the natural environment, the resources required to carry through, and ultimately the prospects for success. In its simplest terms, the two criteria to judge feasibility are cost required and value to be attained.

A well-designed feasibility study should provide a historical background of the business or project, a description of the product or service, accounting statements, details of the operations and management, marketing research and policies, financial data, legal requirements and tax obligations. Generally, feasibility studies precede technical development and project implementation. A feasibility study evaluates the project’s potential for success; therefore, perceived objectivity is an important factor in the credibility of the study for potential investors and lending institutions. It must therefore be conducted with an objective, unbiased approach to provide information upon which decisions can be based.

Types

Technical feasibility

This assessment is based on an outline design of system requirements, to determine whether the company has the technical expertise to handle completion of the project. When writing a feasibility report, the following should be taken to consideration:

• A brief description of the business to assess more possible factors which could affect the study
• The part of the business being examined
• The human and economic factor
• The possible solutions to the problem

Method of production

The selection among a number of methods to produce the same commodity should be undertaken first. Factors that make one method being preferred to other method in agricultural projects are the following:

• Availability of inputs or raw materials and their quality and prices.
• Availability of markets for outputs of each method and the expected prices for these outputs.
• Various efficiency factors such as the expected increase in one additional unit of fertilizer or productivity of a specified crop per one thing.

Production technique

After we determine the appropriate method of production of a commodity, it is necessary to look for the optimal technique to produce this commodity.

Project requirements

Once the method of production and its technique are determined, technical people have to determine the projects’ requirements during the investment and operating periods. These include:

• Determination of tools and equipment needed for the project such as drinkers and feeders or pumps or pipes …etc.
• Determination of projects’ requirements of constructions such as buildings, storage, and roads …etc. in addition to internal designs for these requirements.
• Determination of projects’ requirements of skilled and unskilled labor and managerial and financial labor.
• Determination of construction period concerning the costs of designs and consultations and the costs of constructions and other tools.
• Determination of minimum storage of inputs, cash money to cope with operating and contingency costs.

Project location

The most important factors that determine the selection of project location are the following:

• Availability of land (proper acreage and reasonable costs).
• The impact of the project on the environment and the approval of the concerned institutions for license.
• The costs of transporting inputs and outputs to the project’s location (i.e., the distance from the markets).
• Availability of various services related to the project such as availability of extension services or veterinary or water or electricity or good roads …etc.

Legal feasibility

It determines whether the proposed system conflicts with legal requirements, e.g., a data processing system must comply with the local data protection regulations and if the proposed venture is acceptable in accordance to the laws of the land.

Operational feasibility study

Operational feasibility is the measure of how well a proposed system solves the problems, and takes advantage of the opportunities identified during scope definition and how it satisfies the requirements identified in the requirements analysis phase of system development.

The operational feasibility assessment focuses on the degree to which the proposed development project fits in with the existing business environment and objectives with regard to development schedule, delivery date, corporate culture and existing business processes.

To ensure success, desired operational outcomes must be imparted during design and development. These include such design-dependent parameters as reliability, maintainability, supportability, usability, producibility, disposability, sustainability, affordability and others. These parameters are required to be considered at the early stages of design if desired operational behaviours are to be realised. A system design and development requires appropriate and timely application of engineering and management efforts to meet the previously mentioned parameters. A system may serve its intended purpose most effectively when its technical and operating characteristics are engineered into the design. Therefore, operational feasibility is a critical aspect of systems engineering that needs to be an integral part of the early design phases.

Time feasibility

A time feasibility study will take into account the period in which the project is going to take up to its completion. A project will fail if it takes too long to be completed before it is useful. Typically, this means estimating how long the system will take to develop, and if it can be completed in a given time period using some methods like payback period. Time feasibility is a measure of how reasonable the project timetable is. Given our technical expertise, are the project deadlines reasonable? Some projects are initiated with specific deadlines. It is necessary to determine whether the deadlines are mandatory or desirable.

Resource feasibility

Describe how much time is available to build the new system, when it can be built, whether it interferes with normal business operations, type and amount of resources required, dependencies, and developmental procedures with company revenue prospectus.

Financial feasibility

In case of a new project, financial viability can be judged on the following parameters:

• Total estimated cost of the project
• Financing of the project in terms of its capital structure, debt to equity ratio and promoter’s share of total cost
• Existing investment by the promoter in any other business
• Projected cash flow and profitability