Summary Report
The report format suggested above does not contain any summary section. This exclusion is deliberate. The summary should not be prepared until the full report is written. Once the report is completed a summary can be prepared quickly and efficiently. A summary however is usually prepared. Its objects is to present the highlights of the complete report so that executive can get the main ideas quickly. Some companies treat the summary as a separate report and sent it to certain executives instead of the full report.
Report writers often place the summary at the beginning of the findings sections, in which case the summary covers only the findings it does not include any mention of the other sections in the report. If this is done the findings section is broken into two parts (1) the summary and (2) the detailed account of the findings. Other writers prefer to make the summary a separate section at the start of the report. This latter method makes it easy for busy executives to read the summary and decide whether to go further. It also permits them to determine quickly who else in the organizations should read the report when the summary is made first part of the report the objectives abbreviated findings conclusions and recommendations are included in it.