[tab name=’Guidelines’]

Guidelines : For Reports

Cover Letters for Reports

Guidelines and Alternate Phrases

• Mention the report you are enclosing.
• I’ve enclosed our activity report for….
• Enclosed is the feasibility study you requested on the possibility of….
• I’ve attached my conclusions about the work to be done on….
• Summarize the key conclusions and recommendations. This overview may be the only part of your report the executive decision-maker reads.
• After careful study of the area, we have concluded that extending the gas lines to this Keystone development would not be economically advantageous.
• Our audit shows a serious problem with inventory control; our calculations suggest an excess of $250,000 in out-of-season inventory.
• Our analysis of the staffing needs reveals a shortage of at least four field engineers and two equipment operators.
• Our primary recommendation is to terminate the contract.
• My suggestion is to begin study immediately on the feasibility of….
• Give your opinion, if appropriate, about the work undertaken and its benefit to the organization.
• I think we should hire the staff necessary to complete the project by year’s end. With that information, we should be able to budget more accurately for the coming nine quarters.
• With this information in hand, I think we are in a superior position to make an offer on the Haverty property.
• The results of this study should minimize considerably the risk in our moving ahead with the marketing plans.
• With this latest data, we should have solved our processing problems for the Ohio regions.
• Suggest a next action step, if appropriate.
• If you think these preliminary results are inconclusive, I suggest we contract with Belton Associates to complete a brief study of….
• I suggest your office draft a letter to the would-be buyers to make them aware of the extenuating circumstances.
• If you think more work should be done in this area, we can always…before making a final decision.
• If you agree with these assumptions and conclusions, I suggest we seek budget allocations of $10,000,000 to….
• Thank a client for the opportunity to conduct the work. If you’re submitting an internal report, you may want to acknowledge help from other sources within your own organization.
• Thank you for the opportunity to be involved in this project.
• I appreciate your seeking our expertise before making the final decision.
• Thank you for funding this study–the results should be far-reaching for our employees and the community at large.
• I also want to take this opportunity to make you aware of the help our Marketing Department (John Turner and Kay Tibbs) provided in gathering this information.
• Mark Fritz also contributed valuable insights on these figures and the related issues. Both he and I have appreciated the opportunity to look into this situation further.

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[tab name=’Example 1′]

Example 1: Sample of cover letter for report

Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State Zip

Date

Addressee
Address
City, State Zip

Dear Mr. Schwartz:

I’ve enclosed my initial report on the property loss at 2897 Barbagallo Street. This loss occurred as a result of the heavy snowfall on January 16 in the foothills near Santa Fe, New Mexico. Our insured’s large warehouse and showroom collapsed as a result of the heavy build-up of snow.

We have paid the insured’s contents claim of $128,344. On the building itself, however, we have reserved $335,000, pending further investigation. Recent information leads me to believe this claim is overstated. Ned Rosoff Independent Adjusters is involved in handling this claim. We are in the process of requesting bids for the demolition and repair of the structure and will report to you again as soon as the information is available.

If you want to discuss this claim further, Scott Andrews or I can answer your questions.

Sincerely,
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[tab name=’Example 2′]

Example 2: Summary cover letter for report

Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State Zip

Date

Addressee
Address
City, State Zip

Dear Mr. Ruyon:

I am forwarding to you a list of current work in progress on the Barton project. To date, we have expended 422 hours in surveying 16 sites. Of these 16 sites, our conclusions are that six will require a complete replacement of all structures and five can be handled with “built-ins.”

We estimate our survey will be complete by the end of the year. In my opinion, the additional staff required to attempt to rush completion will not be cost-effective for your purposes.

I suggest a representative of your office label and arrange shipment of the replacement materials for each site. Because we are referencing so many past drawings, this cataloging should begin only toward the end of the project.

As always, we are finding it a pleasure to work for you and welcome the challenge to help you identify your construction alternatives. Please keep us in mind as a source of expertise on other similar projects.

Sincerely,
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[tab name=’Example 3′]

Example 3: Cover letter for reports

Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State Zip

Date

Addressee
Address
City, State Zip

Dear Ms. Kahler:

I have enclosed my analysis of our data entry staff’s efficiency. Based on last five months’ sales figures, number of errors made in entries, number of orders placed per day, and length of employment I have come to the following conclusions:

Problem areas: We are making almost 20 percent more errors than we did at the onset of the study, with only a 4 percent increase in number of orders to enter.

Probable causes: The increase in order error seems to be due primarily to the fact that we have been hiring more temporaries rather than searching for new employees. As a result, we have an erratic length of employment—some people work only one day and decide they want a different assignment. Because of this, we are facing a loss of experience on the part of the staff. It is only natural someone who is new to our system will make more errors.

Suggested solution: While temporary agencies are convenient, I would suggest we either take on temp to perm candidates only, or that we begin to advertise our openings more heavily.

Sincerely,
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[tab name=’Example 4′]

Example 4: Professional cover letter examples

Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State Zip

Date

Addressee
Address
City, State Zip

Dear Ms. Moise:

I am submitting to you a detailed report covering the following aspects of our book promotion for Esther Franck, Bob Wylie, Chang Liu, and Bill Broadmoore:

• Book tour costs (includes hotel, travel and meal expenses)
• Advertising campaign (radio and print)
• Book store promo (posters and leader bins)
• Audio book costs (studio time & director pay, author/reader pay, known actor/reader pay)
• Audio book promo (print only)

While you will see an increase of almost 40 percent in our expenditures in these areas, I would also like you to note the increase in sales for each author:

• Franck – 45 percent
• Wylie – 67 percent
• Liu – 81 percent
• Broadmoore* – 35 percent

*Broadmoore has not yet gone on his book tour.

I think the gains we have made in sales have more than offset the increase in costs, particularly when you note the pie graph on page 10 showing the effect of each type of promotional expenditure on the increase of sales. Book tours are currently our number one booster of sales—people seem more inclined to buy the book when they have met the author.

I am available to discuss our spending policies at your convenience.

Sincerely,
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[tab name=’Example 5′]

Example 5: Reports Cover Letters

Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State Zip

Date

Addressee
Address
City, State Zip

Dear Mr. Thurston and Ms. Gerrard:

Enclosed is the marketing analysis report for your new product line. We have broken our findings into the following categories:

I. Geographical Regions (see map on pg. ix)
a. Local market
b. Northeastern
c. Central (“midwest”)
d. Northwestern
e. Southeastern
f. South Central
g. Southwestern
f. Alaskan
g. Hawaiian

II. Demographic
a. Gender
b. Age

Current projections identify your strongest market as men between the ages of 17-25, residing in the local, northeastern, northwestern, southwestern and Hawaiian regions. Weakest market is men and women ages 45-70 residing in the Central and Alaskan regions.

Based on these initial findings, we are suggesting increased saturation of the primary target market areas, along with revised advertising campaigns for re-testing in the weakest areas.

If you have any questions before our Friday meeting, I will be available.

Yours Truly,
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