Steps to Writing a Confidential Report

Mike Broemmel reports:

"Follow certain tactics and techniques when you write a confidential report. By understanding how to write a confidential report you can convey important information in a way that maintains its integrity and authenticity. After drafting a confidential report, ensure that you take appropriate steps to secure the document. Review any laws that underpin the requirement for a confidential report. A higher standard is applied to confidentiality when it is a legal requirement. Compile all necessary data to be use[d] in the confidential report. If the report is to be confidential, the underlying data warrant the same level of protection. Prepare an appropriate cover first. It must set forth clearly the confidential nature of the document. If the confidentiality of the report is based on a particular law, reference the legal provision on the cover. In addition, state the penalty for dispensing the confidential contents of the report. Draft the report as you would any other similar text, confidential or not. Insert a confidentiality disclaimer on each page, commonly within the header or footer. Secure (or destroy, as appropriate) the underlying data used to compile the confidential report when the drafting process is complete. Or the data can be attached to the report."