Direct and Indirect Approaches

Your task: For each of the following scenarios, determine whether the direct or indirect approach would be advisable in organizing a report on the topic. Indicate your choice and provide a statement to explain your reason(s) for each choice.

1. The monthly financial report prepared by the accounting department for upper management

2. An accountant fresh out of college who wants to propose a new way to present those monthly financial results to upper management

3. An unsolicited proposal to provide payroll processing services

4. An analytical report, requested by the CEO, explaining why the company has been losing money in the eastern sales region for the past two years

5. An unsolicited proposal to the board of directors, outlining why it makes strategic sense for your company to expand into international markets; the board rejected a similar--but poorly presented--idea last year.