Stop writing finance reports like they are crime novels.

Whether writing an email or a 20-page report we tend to think of it needing a beginning, middle and end. This encourages to adopt a (chrono)logical structure along the lines of:

Here’s a problem ==> This is the cause ==> Analysis of possible solutions ==> recommended solution

The problem with this kind of structure, for busy people at work, is that the important bit is at the end. They have to work through all your analysis to get to the answer. Report-writing is not (or should not be) a way for you to show off about all the analysis you have done.

A better way, one focused on the needs of the reader rather than the vanity of the writer, is to bring the end to the front of the report. Tell the reader the recommendation first and then explain why. This means a structure along the lines of:

Here’s the recommended solution to a problem ==> Why is that the recommendation? ==> analysis of possible solutions

One advantage of this structure is the potential for it to be framed more positively. It starts with suggestions for solutions (improvements over the status quo) rather than the negative experience of describing a problem or challenge.

Next time you are planning a report see if you can structure it so that the reader gets the conclusion/recommendation without having to read a long story.