ACCTG 527 – Concise and Clear Business Writing



ACCTG 527 – A Matter of Style!

Direct Business Language (Plain English)

Clear, Concise, and Precise Business Writing

I. Official Language vs. Business Language

Consider:

“The amount of royalties earned by artists, as adjusted for anticipated returns, shall be charged to expense of the period in which the sale of the record takes place. An advance royalty paid to an artist shall be reported as an asset if the past performance and current popularity of the artist to whom the advance is made provide a sound basis for estimating that the amount of the advance will be recoverable from future royalties to be earned by the artist.”[1]

The writing is dense, overblown, and hard to understand. Why?

• Deals with complex issues.

• Relies on abstract language.

• Resists specificity – refers to general situations.

• Represents voice of collective authority – impersonal.

The above is an example of language of the academic environment.

The language of the professional services workplace

• Uses concrete, direct language.

• Deals with specific situations.

• Must be precise – no generalizations.

• Represents voice of an individual or firm – more personal.

II Techniques of Simple, Concise, and Direct

Eliminate wordiness

Avoid clichés

Express yourself correctly

Use efficient sentence structure

Avoid common stylistic errors

II. Basic Tools of Direct Business Language

A. Objective: Be Clear and Concise

1. Use short simple words instead of long fancy ones

e.g. “A budget facilitates communication by making each manager throughout the organization aware of the plans being implemented by other managers.”

Underscore words/phrases where simpler alternatives would be better.

2. Use one word instead of two.

(a). Eliminate Deadwood

e.g. The system allows auditors to prepare electronic working papers that are consistent and complete.

What is the deadwood in the above sentence?

(b) Avoid Redundancies

e.g. From past experience, we have determined that it is absolutely essential to refer back to previous notes before determining a final outcome.

Underline the redundancies in the above sentence.

(c) Avoid Formulaic Expressions and Clichés

e.g. “Pursuant to our conversation, please rest assured that we will give our full attention to the matter at hand. If you should have any further questions, please do not hesitate to (or please feel free to) contact me.”

Circle all formulaic expressions and clichés in the above sentence.

(d) Limit Prepositional Phrases

Underline all prepositional phrases in the following sentence.

e.g. “There will be an investigation of the problem by the planning team in order to arrive at alternative solutions.”

(e) Use “It is,” “There is,” “There are” Constructions Sparingly.

These constructions set up “dummy” subjects and verbs that do not explain what the sentence is about or express the sentence’s action.

“It is” and “there is” are dummy subjects and verbs in the following sentences. Underline the real subjects and verbs then rewrite the sentences.

e.g. “It is the responsibility of each organization to assess its software.”

e.g. “There is no question that certain assets might not be realized at full value.”

(f) Break up Long Sentences into Shorter Ones

Rule of thumb: On average, a concise sentence should be no longer than 20 words

e.g. “Until Mr. Hawkins returns and instructs otherwise or expounds in more detail upon the relevant procedures, listed below are a few interdepartmental guidelines to be followed when an accident occurs.”

Revise the above sentence.

B. Objective: Be Clear and Direct

(1). Use Active Voice

Voice? Indicates the flow or direction of action in a sentence.

Active voice usually preferred because it keeps the sentences straightforward and direct. Unnecessary use of passive voice adds wordiness and reduces concreteness of expression.

e.g. “After the sales order is prepared by the sales clerk, it is forwarded to the credit manager for approval.”

When is passive voice a good choice? Consider the following:

“That portion of the audit must be repeated because the information contained was not complete.”

(2) Don’t “Smother” Verbs

Avoid “nouning” the verb.

Consider: “It is the intention of the committee that a decision will be made on the matter by June 1.”

Rewrite to “unsmother” the verbs.

(3) Put the Subject near the Beginning of the Sentence

Sentences that delay the introduction of the subject might be stylistically elegant and effective when attempting to write “the great American novel,” but they can be disorienting and obscure clarity in business writing.

e.g. “Considering the size of the estate and despite the protection afforded surviving spouses by the laws of community property, the best choice is to leave the trust intact.”

Avoid using more than one introductory clause or phrase in a single sentence. Keep any introductory elements you decide to use under eight or ten words.

(4) Put the Verb near the Subject.

Once we see the subject, we want the verb to pop along pretty quickly!

e.g. “Basic procedures for the valuation of inventory, such as stock counts and review of the provisions made for obsolescence, will be handled by Jackson and Samuels.” (Multiple problems here!)

(5) Use Positive Rather than Negative Statements

Turn the obvious negatives around.

“it is not possible” is better expressed how? --

e.g. “Financial statements should not be compiled if there has not been authorization from this office.”

Rewrite to eliminate negatives.

C. Objective: Be Clear and Precise

(1) Eliminate Unclear Modifiers (Words or Phrases)

Introductory phrases using verb forms ending in “-ing” or “-ed” can lead to problems! If the phrase refers to a word that is a long way away from the modifier, the modifier is misplaced. If there is no word later in the sentence to which this phrase logically refers, the phrase is a dangling modifier.

What is wrong with the following? How would you correct them?

e.g. “Once prepared and approved, we will send the documents to the shareholders.”

e.g. We only interviewed the controller yesterday.

e.g. “Discouraged by low profits and high overhead, reorganization was the only solution.”

(2) Avoid Mixed Sentence Construction

In such a situation, the first part of the sentence does not fit properly with what follows it. The sentence is awkward and appears to shift direction midway through. Problems have arisen because of confused grammatical relationships.

e.g. “By asking clients to schedule appointments before March is one way to reduce the pressure during tax season.”

Rewrite the above.

Writing for Conciseness – Help with Words (Not Exhaustive!)

Long and Fancy to Short and Simple

Accomplish, execute = do

Facilitate = help

Implement, commence= start

Opportunity = chance

Component = part

Instruct = tell

Request = ask

Convey = give

Identify = show

Attempt = try

Utilize = use

Regarding = about

Deadwood vs. Concise

By means of = by

By reason of = because of

By virtue of = by, under

For the reason that = because

In connection with = with, about

with regard to = about

In order to = to

In terms of = in

In the event that = if

On the basis of = by

Prior to = before

Subsequent to = after

Have the capability to = can

Have the capacity to = can

In conjunction with = with

At the present time = now

Redundancies

Absolutely essential = essential

Assembled together = assembled

Filled to capacity = filled

Small in size = small

Close proximity = proximity

Final outcome = outcome

Future plans = plans

Hidden pitfall = pitfall

Past experience = experience

Plan ahead = plan

Postponed until later = postponed

Refer back to = refer to

Revert back = revert

Unforeseen disruption = disruptions

Unsolved problem = problem

Very unique = unique

Smothered vs. Working Verbs.

Analysis = analyze

Authorization = authorize

Commencement = commence

Determination = determine

Failure = fail

Formulation = formulate

Performance = perform

Reliance = rely

Discovery = discover

Cliches

Pursuant to our conversation = after/when we talked; spoke yesterday, etc.

We are in receipt of = we have received

Attached herewith = We/I have attached

Enclosed please find = I/we have enclosed

Per your request = As you asked

Please be advised that = Omit

(Please) rest assured that = Omit

(Please) do not hesitate to = Omit

Feel free to = Omit

Thank you in advance = Omit

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[1] Financial Accounting Standards Board, Financial Reporting in the Record and Music Industry, Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 50 (Stamford, CT: Financial Accounting standards Board, 1981). Para. 10.

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