Peter Cundill said: “ In every analysis you need to isolate what the real assets are and you must not forget to examine the franchise to do business, to review the character and competence of the management and to estimate the outcome if the whole business had to be turned into cash.” To help investors and shareholders in formulating appropriate investment decisions, careful attention and analysis must be performed from the business firm’s quarterly earnings reports over time. Moreover, one research paper examines whether a higher reporting frequency offers real business effects and it reveals that mandatory quarterly reporting has an impact on economic efficiency. So, one thing that you need to do to facilitate efficiency in your business is writing a quarterly report. In this article, we will discuss the different types, benefits, basic elements, and steps in preparing an effective quarterly report, plus we have various downloadable examples of quarterly report templates for you to use. Scroll until the end of the article!
A quarterly report is a clear and comprehensive document that demonstrates the significant activities and performance made by a specific business firm or organization every quarter. This is a fundamental report which outlines the activities, projects and other events achieved in three months. Also, it is an effective tool in defining the level of quarterly growth and development of a business firm or organization, and in formulating appropriate investment decisions.
For example, Microsoft generated approximately $ 6.4 billion in income from intelligent cloud services based on the statistical findings in the most recent quarter of 2021. Thus, all types of business executives, managers, project leaders, medical executives, and other professionals who manage enterprises and corporate firms should document their financial achievements every three months through an effective quarterly report for their work and other business projects.
Today, many working professionals, business firms, institutions, and organizations structure their own quarterly reports in various ways. In this section, you will learn and understand about the different types of quarterly reports because your style and method of writing is determined by the type of quarterly report you will write. To assist you in this matter, we will introduce and explain to you about the different types of quarterly reports below:
Do you need to pay attention and analyze the progress of your project report or business every three months? A quarterly progress report is a beneficial professional document that provides a clear and concise summary of impressive accomplishments of a company or organization in every quarter. It consists of essential details about several project or work accomplishments made in several months. Several kinds of quarterly progress reports are quarterly business growth progress reports, quarterly scientific progress reports, quarterly school progress reports, and many others.
The book Introduction to International Disaster Management stated that emergency managers these days have a wealth of information available to them and can benefit in building a solid foundation of expertise in disaster preparedness and response. A skilled emergency management technician is not just good in possessing field experience and good mentoring, but he or she should be able to create difficult decisions when it comes to overcoming struggles against disasters in the society. Thus, writing a disaster relief quarterly report is necessary in properly managing disasters and providing relief to the victims.
Are you working on a special project that takes up several years to complete? To keep track of the growth and development of your project effectively on a quarterly basis, we recommend that you write a project quarterly report. This keeps investors and stakeholders of the project well-informed of critical aspects of the project condition such as the scope, issues, schedule, resources, cost, and many more. Plus, it allows the management of the company or organization to perform proper measures and actions to assess project issues and risks.
“The home is the first and most effective place to learn the lessons of life: truth, honor, virtue, self control, the value of education, honest work, and the purpose and privilege of life. Nothing can take the place of home in rearing and teaching children, and no other success can compensate for failure in the home,” David O. McKay said. If you are working as a teacher in an academy, university, or any educational institution that provides homeschooling programs, it is vital that you construct a quarterly report for these programs. Academic programs must offer a well-detailed assessment every quarter to aim on the content and efficacy of the homeschooling program to the students.
According to some findings, only 15% of respondents reported quarterly business reports as “very effective” yet 66% reported they perform quarterly reports on a regular basis such as every quarter, month, or week. Despite many people considering quarterly report writing as a time-consuming process, there are other business firms that have turned these reports to their advantage by connecting the traditional process with modern technology. So, what are the notable benefits of writing a comprehensive quarterly report? Below are some of the primary benefits of writing a quarterly report:
If you are a person who currently owns and manages a small enterprise, business project, or who is working in the accounting firm or management of a corporation as a financial analyst, then writing a quarterly report is very essential to record quarterly growth and development rates. This will assist you, the management, directors, executives, project leaders, investors and shareholders to focus on the current status of the business or the company that you’re working for, as well as observing the potential progress that it can take towards better development.
Quarterly report writing can help every business professional and financial analyst to pinpoint the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats inside the business firm, project, or organization. Being knowledgeable and having an understanding about these elements may help you and the business, organization or project to use powerful strategies and techniques to be enforced for the better improvement and growth when it comes to expanding the value proposition from the perspective of the executives, introducing new products, features, and services, presenting major roadblocks or obstacles to success, and more.
In order to focus on segmenting the target audience, it is crucial that you write a quarterly report. These reports will mostly be reserved for only the top segment of the target audience base who are in need and drive the special attention from your work, project, and from the company or organization. It will be helpful in representing the greatest growth opportunities, ensuring that you are in sync with the business, project, or organization.
Writing quarterly reports is beneficial in fostering business relationships, opening up honest discussions around the overall health of the target audience, and helping you to move them in the direction most helpful to them and to you as well. That’s why business firms and organizations need to be sure that the people experience success with their products and services.
In this section, you will learn how to construct a remarkably written and comprehensive quarterly report. However, a quarterly report has different parts. Include the following elements for you to create an excellent document:
Bryan A. Garner, the author of the book HBR Guide to Better Business Writing, stated that good writing is not an inborn gift, rather a skill you cultivate. It is similar to anyone of normal intelligence and coordination who can learn to play a musical instrument with prowess. So, writing a quarterly report is an effective way to keep track and manage the integral aspects of the business firm or organization and other ongoing projects that need to be analyzed every three months. Below are some easy-to-follow tips that indicate how to design and create the best quarterly report:
Step 1: Create an Overview of the Achievements in Every Quarter
Have some proper amount of time in defining the entire achievements and milestones of the project, company or organization every three months so that you are able to create an overview. Business firms and corporate groups have up to 45 days from the end of the quarter to report, and most of them follow a traditional calendar year. The four earnings seasons are first quarter (Q1) that starts in mid-April until mid-May, second quarter (Q2) that starts in mid-July until mid-August, third quarter (Q3) that starts in mid-October until mid-November and fourth quarter (Q4) that starts in mid-January until mid-February.
Step 2: Construct the Overall Structure of the Report
There are many key aspects that you can highlight in a quarterly report. So, you need to consider constructing the overall structure of the quarterly report. It should be a strategic report, instead of tactical. If you need to write a quarterly report, include the business overview, markets, business model, sample strategy, highlights in every quarter, statement of the chairman, key performance indicators, primary risks and uncertainties, operating review, financial review, and many other factors.
Step 3: Set Up a Timeline of Quarterly Achievements and Milestones
What does the business or project timeline of achievements and milestones show? You need to develop a simple and clear timeline of the important things already accomplished in the business or project in three months. Include the exact time, day, and date.
Step 4: Write with Conciseness, and Accuracy
You need to be more practical in your usage of words. Avoid repetition of most significant points several times in your quarterly report. So, keep it more concise. If you need to include some numerical figures such as percentages and rates in the quarterly report of the business firm, project or organization, ascertain that the numbers are accurate. Also, you need to consider your purpose and the audience to guide you on what you will say and how you say the details.
Step 5: Proofread and Revise the Overall Report
Check your entire quarterly report after every three months and be sure to fully include all the fundamental elements in your quarterly report. If you notice that you overlook some sections that require sufficient points, we recommend that you make some edits and revisions in the document.
Step 6: Prepare the Final Quarterly Report
After proofreading and revising, you can now prepare the final quarterly report. Include some notes and other essential messages you want to convey to your target audience such as investors, stockholders, clients, the public, and other individuals on the concluding part of your quarterly report. Skim your report for final evaluation and quality check.
Some examples of quarterly reports are quarterly progress report, disaster relief quarterly report, quarterly contribution and wage report, employer quarterly gross earnings report, project quarterly report, quarterly performance report, subcontractor quarterly report, homeschool quarterly report, quarterly financial report, quarterly summary reports, and more.
What are some examples of quarterly reports?
The purpose of a quarterly report is to demonstrate and explain the quarterly financial growth and achievements of a business firm through defining the strategy used, as well as measuring the overall performance based on the unaudited financial statements like income statement and balance sheets issued by the business firm every three months. This is helpful in making the proper investment decision.
What is the purpose of a quarterly report?
Start your quarterly report writing with a summary or overview paragraph of the highlighted goals and accomplishments that are reached by the company. Then, write the significant details of the summary. Set up a basic timetable to list down all the achievements and milestones that are achieved every 3 months. Use some charts, bar graphs, tables, and other visual diagrams to showcase the growth and development of the company throughout the quarter clearly.
What are the essential steps in writing a quarterly report?
A quarterly report is a document containing the business firm or organization’s activities, tasks, events, programs, and other things that are accomplished every three months. On the contrary, a financial statement is a document that presents the current status of the financial performance of a business firm or organization.
What is the difference between a quarterly report and a financial statement?
Most of the public companies are required to provide a complete picture of the current status of their business during each quarter for their shareholders, financial analysis, and the general public. By doing this, it will assist investors and shareholders in developing comparisons based on the analysts’ estimates to the business firm’s actual results. Therefore, writing a clear and effective quarterly report for your business, project, program, meeting, or organization is a worthwhile step in stepping forward, especially when it comes to elevating efficiency, productivity and order inside the business firm or organization. So, here are some of our downloadable and printable quarterly report samples available in different kinds of formats. Simply click the best quarterly report templates in this article and start downloading now!
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