Managament accounting

The report and the report users: (a) A special 'one-off' report will be commissioned by a manager, who will then expect to make a decision on the basis of what the report tells them. For example, the board of directors of a company might call for a report on the financial viability of a new product or investment, and they will expect to decide whether or not to undertake the product development or the investment on the basis of the report's findings. (b) Routine reports, such as performance reports, might be required because they are a part of established procedures. The managers receiving the reports will not have commissioned them specifically, but they will be expected to act on anything out of the ordinary that the report tells them. (c) Some reports arise out of a particular event, on which regulations prescribe the writing of a report. For example, a leaving report must be written following an employee's resignation. (d) Individual responsibilities often include the requirement to write reports. The secretary at a meeting will have to report to members the procedures and decisions taken.

As with all information, a report may be of no use at all if it is not produced on time. There is no point in presenting a report to influence a decision if the decision has already been made. The timescales within which the report user is working must be known, and the time available to produce the report planned accordingly.