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Somewhere in most organisations there is a report going out every week or every month that nobody quite remembers commissioning. It has a template, a distribution list, and a slot in someone's calendar to produce it. Whether anyone reads it, acts on it, or even needs it is a separate question, one that rarely gets asked.
How Reports Get Created
A report usually starts with a real need. Someone wanted visibility on something specific, at a specific moment. The report gets built, it does the job, and then it keeps going. The original need passes, the report does not. Nobody challenges it because cancelling a report someone else relies on feels riskier than continuing to produce it.
The Difference Between Insightful and Empty
A good report tells a story. It surfaces what has changed, what needs a decision, and what is at risk of going wrong before it does. It is short because it has been thought through, not because there was nothing to say.
An empty report is long because nobody wanted to be the one to leave something out. It restates status that has not changed. It reports activity instead of outcomes. It exists to be seen to have been produced, not to inform a decision.
Questions Worth Asking
- Who reads this report, and what do they do differently because of it
- When was the last time this report changed a decision
- Would anyone notice if it stopped
- Is this report answering a question someone is currently asking, or one somebody asked two years ago
Why This Matters for Governance
Reporting that has drifted from its purpose is not a harmless habit. It costs time to produce, it dilutes the reports that do matter, and it creates a false sense of visibility. Senior stakeholders assume they are informed because the report keeps arriving, whether or not it still tells them anything useful.
Worth the Time It Takes
Every recurring report deserves the same scrutiny it would get if someone proposed it fresh today. If it would not survive that conversation, it is worth asking why it is still on the calendar.
