Characteristics of good quality reporting and information can be defined with the acronym A.C.C.U.R.A.T.E. A good report must provide factual information. It is because you will make decisions based on these reports. Therefore, it is always important to take conscious steps to make sure that report contains all ACCURATE qualities.
Qualities of good Accurate reports
We have enlisted characteristics of a good report that you must know:
Accurate
Information given in the report must be accurate and unbiased. It must not contain any grammatical and arithmetical errors. Information presented in written form is always more reliable and can be retracted later with ease.
Complete
When it's about writing a good report, accuracy isn't the only thing to consider here. It must be complete as well. It means your report must contain all the facts and figures that are necessary. Nothing should be concealed or missing here.
It is because presenting the information but not completely isn't of any use.
Cost-effective
You also need to analyze information in the report against the cost to obtain it. In a business context, spending money on accessing information every time isn't worthwhile. It will lead to a loss of money each time you need to obtain that information.
Understandable
The information presented in your report must be understandable for everyone. Always keep the receiver in mind when using jargon, sentence structure, and language in your report.
Relevant
In a report, you must present the right information to the right person. It means presented information to someone who doesn't have any control over decision-making will be of no use. Therefore, always present it to the authorities who can make the right decisions expected to come out of the valuable information you have given in the report.
Accessible
The report should contain information from reliable resources and must be easier to access for the receiver. It must be available for the receiver at any time.
Timely
You need to communicate information in a timely manner in your report. So, your report receiver must have enough time to review the report and make the right decisions accordingly. Therefore, presenting details of past events which have no link with the current situation is just a wastage of time.
Even though what is timely information for your business depends upon the situation to situation. However, choosing an appropriate communication channel is a primary skill to achieve here.
Easy to Use
Keep the report as simple as possible and use the phrases as per the experience and expertise of the receiver. So, it can not only be easier for them to understand but to use that information further, as well.
What’s next
Writing a good report might seem a hard nut to crack. However, if you know the essential characteristics of good reports, then it will not be that difficult for you. It'll let you know how to judge your reports accordingly.
Moreover with good software available, extracting data would be easier, and creating a report which follows the A.C.C.U.R.A.T.E rule will be slightly easier. At the end of the day, there’s no perfect report and each report will develop together with the needs of the users, in which case we will be available to assist with this evolution process.