An HSC Business Studies business report is marked on 4 things NESA prints on the exam paper: knowledge and understanding relevant to the question, applying the hypothetical business situation, business terminology and concepts, and "a sustained, logical and cohesive response in the form of a business report". A structure that covers all 4 is a brief executive summary, one headed section for each part of the question in the order it's asked, and recommendations tied to the business in the scenario.
Business Studies isn't my subject; I teach History. Everything here about the exam comes from NESA's own documents, quoted and dated. What I can add is the writing side: writing about the topic instead of answering the question is a problem I see in History extended responses too.
Where the business report sits in the HSC exam
If you're sitting the 2026 HSC, your Business Studies exam is on Monday 26 October, 9.25 am to 12.30 pm (the start time is when reading time begins). You're on the Business Studies Stage 6 Syllabus (2010), and so is next year's Year 12. A new Business Studies 11-12 syllabus is in development; NESA's timeline puts its first HSC exam in 2029.
The exam is 100 marks over 3 hours, plus 5 minutes reading time. The business report is Section III, worth 20 marks. NESA's exam specifications say:
There will be one question that requires an extended response in a business report format.
This question will incorporate elements from across topics in the HSC course.
The expected length of response will be around six pages of an exam writing booklet (approximately 800 words).
There's no choice, and the 2025 paper said to "Allow about 35 minutes for this section".
The 2025 report question
In 2025 the scenario was XYZ Equipment Pty Ltd, an Australian maker of school equipment planning to move its manufacturing overseas. The stimulus gave 4 reasons and a chart of the relocation plan. The task read:
You have been hired as a consultant by the owner to write a business report.
In your report:
- outline ONE relevant human resource management process that the business could use
- describe the purpose of the above chart and any issues found in the chart
- recommend appropriate global factors the business can use to achieve cost leadership.
That was 2025's question, not a pattern. In 2024 the dot points asked students to describe, discuss, and recommend; in 2023, to outline, compare, and recommend.
The 2025 marking guidelines' top band (17 to 20 marks) read:
Provides an outline of ONE relevant human resource management process that the business could use
Comprehensively describes the purpose of the chart and issues found
Comprehensively recommends appropriate global factors that the business can use to achieve cost leadership
Presents a sustained, logical and cohesive business report integrating relevant business terminology and concepts
Down the bands, "Comprehensively describes" becomes "Thoroughly describes", then "Describes", then "Outlines". The report line drops to "Includes features of a business report" in the 9 to 12 band: report features alone are middle-band wording. The outline line is identical from 9 to 20 marks, so in 2025 the outline wasn't what separated the bands.
The 2025 marking feedback asked students to improve by "incorporating the stimulus where relevant. For example, addressing the issue of the product being of poor quality". That was one of the 4 reasons in the scenario. Use every detail you're given.
What NESA says about report format
NESA doesn't prescribe a format. The exam specifications ask for "a business report format" and the marking guidelines mention "features of a business report", but neither lists the features. So the structure below is advice, not a NESA rule. If your teacher has taught you a version, use theirs.
A business report structure that works
Title. One line naming the business and the report's purpose. The marks aren't here, so keep it quick.
Executive summary. 2 to 4 sentences: the main issues, your recommendations, and the outcome you expect. NESA's 2025 general feedback asked students to "use the first page of the answer booklet for an extended response to develop a plan". Plan first, and you'll know your recommendations before you write the summary.
One headed section for each dot point. Follow the question's order and borrow its words for your headings: "Purpose of the chart and issues found", not "Gantt chart". The verb sets how deep each section goes, and every section uses the scenario: the business's name, figures, and problems. You're still writing paragraphs that argue, so PEEL habits apply, with the stimulus as your evidence.
Recommendations and conclusion. Number your recommendations under a clear heading, then finish with 1 or 2 sentences linking them to what the business wants to achieve.
What the verbs ask for
From NESA's glossary of key words, word for word:
Outline: Sketch in general terms; indicate the main features of.
Describe: Provide characteristics and features.
Explain: Relate cause and effect. Make the relationships between things evident. Provide why and/or how.
Analyse: Identify components and the relationship between them. Draw out and relate implications.
Recommend: Provide reasons in favour.
Evaluate: Make a judgement based on criteria. Determine the value of.
A list of strategies isn't a recommendation; reasons in favour, for this business, are. In 2022, markers asked students to improve by "recommending an appropriate channel choice rather than providing unnecessary information regarding alternate channel choices". If you also take Economics, the Economics paragraph guide shows the same verbs at work.
A worked example
Everything in this section was written for this guide: the business is fictional, and the question isn't from a NESA paper.
The scenario (fictional)
PQR E-Bikes Pty Ltd assembles electric bikes in Sydney from imported parts and sells to businesses that run delivery fleets. To win a bulk discount, it ordered 12 months of parts at once, and it now rents a second warehouse to store them. Fleet customers pay within 60 days; its overseas suppliers expect payment within 30.
Balance sheet extract, 30 June 2026:
- Cash at bank: $15,000
- Accounts receivable: $135,000
- Inventory: $210,000
- Accounts payable: $190,000
- Bank overdraft: $110,000 (limit $120,000)
Current ratio at 30 June 2025: 1.8:1
The practice question
You have been hired as a consultant by the owners to write a business report. In your report:
- describe how the business's operations decisions have affected its finances
- analyse the business's liquidity using the information provided
- recommend TWO strategies to improve the business's liquidity.
The samples cover the liquidity analysis and the first recommendation.
The weak version (sample)
Liquidity
Liquidity is very important for a business because if it has bad liquidity it can't pay its bills. PQR has a current ratio of 1.2 which is not very good. The business should use working capital management and cash flow management to fix this, such as JIT, factoring, leasing, and discounts for early payment. These strategies will improve liquidity and make the business more successful.
It defines liquidity instead of analysing it, and "not very good" doesn't say compared with what. The stimulus's best evidence (the inventory, the cash, the 60 and 30 days, last year's ratio) is never used. Then it names 4 strategies when the question asked for 2, with no reasons. NESA defines identify as "Recognise and name." That's all this does.
The strong version (sample)
2. Analysis of liquidity
PQR's liquidity has weakened over the past year. Its current ratio has fallen from 1.8:1 to 1.2:1 ($360,000 ÷ $300,000), so current assets still cover current liabilities, but by a much smaller margin. Even that overstates the position: inventory makes up $210,000, or 58%, of current assets, and cash only $15,000, because the bulk order turned cash into parts that won't be used for months. Timing adds to the strain, since fleet customers take 60 days to pay while suppliers want payment in 30. With the overdraft at $110,000 of its $120,000 limit, PQR has little room to pay suppliers on time, which puts at risk the supply of parts its operations depend on.
3. Recommendations
3.1 Reduce inventory through smaller, more frequent orders
As part of its working capital management, PQR should control its largest current asset, inventory, by replacing its annual bulk order with smaller orders timed to production, moving towards just-in-time (JIT) inventory management. As existing stock is used, cash from sales could then pay suppliers and reduce the overdraft instead of funding the next large order, and the second warehouse would no longer be needed. Overseas parts take time to arrive, so it should keep a small buffer of stock, and it would lose the bulk discount. While the overdraft is this close to its limit, freeing up cash matters more than the discount.
What the strong version does
- Numbered headings match the question's dot points.
- It analyses: the ratio is broken into inventory, cash, and timing, and each is linked to what it means for PQR.
- The stimulus and syllabus terms do real work: liquidity, current ratio, working capital management, control of current assets, and JIT.
- The recommendation gives reasons in favour, weighs a cost, and makes a judgement.
If recommendation 3.2 uses discounts for early payment, check the detail: NESA's 2024 sample answer notes, "This strategy will not improve the current ratio because the current assets will decrease by the discount offered."
Check your report before you hand it in
- Could a marker find every dot point from my headings alone?
- Does my executive summary name the issues and my recommendations?
- Have I used the business's name, figures, and problems in every section?
- Does each section do what its verb asks, and no more?
- Does every recommendation give reasons in favour, for this business?
A no tells you which part to fix.
For practice reports, or tasks where your school and task notification allow AI tools, MarkMate's essay checker marks typed or handwritten work against the marking criteria, with subject-specific feedback in Australian English across 30+ NSW subjects, Business Studies included. Its feedback isn't a mark: your teacher decides your mark.
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Frequently asked questions
Do I need an executive summary in a Business Studies report?
NESA doesn't list required report features, so it isn't a stated rule. A brief executive summary is a quick way to show report form and give the marker your recommendations up front, so it's worth 2 to 4 sentences.
How long should a Business Studies business report be?
NESA's exam specifications say "around six pages of an exam writing booklet (approximately 800 words)". The 2025 paper suggested about 35 minutes for it.
Can I use dot points in a Business Studies business report?
NESA's documents don't mention dot points either way, but the criteria ask for "a sustained, logical and cohesive response". Use them for short lists, such as numbered recommendations, and write your explanations and reasons in full sentences.
What's the difference between the business report and the Section IV extended response?
The business report asks you to "apply the hypothetical business situation" in the stimulus, "in the form of a business report". Section IV asks you to "apply relevant business case study/studies and contemporary business issues", and its criteria don't ask for report form.