The need for concise, but clearly presented arguments is one that this author, as an auditor, has struggled with for years. Auditors often do very good work, but then throw it away by poorly presented results. This is often illustrated by:

• Not explaining, or not clearly explaining, the business issue being addressed;
• Poor logical construction of the argument from issue to solution;
• Lack of focus on the key issue;
• The inclusion of trivia to bolster the apparent knowledge and/or expertise of the writer.

Auditors often feel the need to justify their existence by writing long reports. In some ways, this is understandable. If three weeks work has not found anything wrong then simply reporting “things are okay” appears to be poor value, whereas a few thousand words, neatly bound, gives a perceived benefit. In reality, management would probably prefer the abbreviated version as it takes valuable time to read the trivia of a larger report. This author well remembers the padding of an audit report with “Recommendation 20 – Implement recommendation number 12”, which not only annoyed management, but made the writer appear to be retarded.

That aside, the ability in other areas of the business to present a clear, logically structured, but concise, argument should lead to better decision making. The Plain English Campaign (http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/) believes that everyone should have access to clear and concise public information. Each year it issues its Golden Bull awards for the best gobbledygook, jargon and misleading information in the public domain. What is good for public dissemination should also be good for internal communication. 

Word processing packages often contain tools for identifying incorrect spelling, poor grammar and sometimes readability. The readability of a document is often an indication of its ease of understanding. Microsoft Word comes with the Flesch reading ease score. This particular score rates text on a 100-point scale; the higher the score, the easier it is to understand the document. Word also includes the Flesch-Kincaid grade scale which rates text on a U.S. school grade level. For example, a score of 8.0 means that an eighth grader (13 years of age) should be able to understand the document.

However, the writer must consider the education level of the target audience as well as the organisation’s house style. This may mean that a lower Flesch reading ease, or a higher Flesch-Kincaid grade scale is acceptable. For example, this article has a Flesch reading ease of 37.1 and a Flesch-Kincaid grade scale of 13 (19 years of age), but I believe that this will be acceptable to my audience. Using tools of this type enables a consistency of reporting which should lead to a uniform dissemination of information, better presentation of arguments and more accurate business decisions. It also sets base lines for performance measurement and training in report writing.

Alternative communication mechanisms certainly have their place in the business environment, but the ability to present a reasoned argument in a single document still has advantages over its faster brothers.

John is a member of the lecture panel for Faculty-One www.faculty-one.com where he teaches fraud detection & investigation and computer security.  He is Managing Director of LHS Business Control, a corporate governance consultancy that he founded in 1988.    He can be contacted at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , www.lhscontrol.com, or +44 (0)1707 851454