Businesses are as diverse as the people that own and run them. For this reason, business reports will vary. But, there is some convention to reports for corporations, especially when the company relies on bankers and other investors for investment capital. Before a bank will lend money to a business, it will require a long-range business plan. This plan is needed so that the loan officers can have information to determine if the company will be able to repay the loan.

The reports listed below can be clicked on to see more detail about each one. These reports have to do mainly with planning and forecasting. There are also cost reports that a company will use to look at production or operations information.

Reports:

• Business Plan - This is a Long-rage plan for a company. This should be detailed with annual sales and expenditures. It will also reveal plans for new capital purchases, cost cutting initiatives, growth plans, etc

• Budget - This is an annual plan. It will have sales and expenses by month. This report is usually not updated. Current operations are usually compared to the annual budget on a monthly basis.

• Forecast - This is the annual plan with sales and expenditures for each month. This report will normally be updated monthly or quarterly with new information available.

• Flash Report - The monthly flash report is updated each week to give management an idea of how close the month will be to plan. This report is not used by all companies, but is usually used when the sales of a business can dramatically change with very short notice.