The differences between formal and informal reports include tone, structure, scope, content and purpose. Another difference is that formal reports are often used in academic papers or to provide a lengthy overview of a major change or development within a business, while informal reports are used for shorter documents, such as memos and newsletters. Consequently, formal reports are more detailed than informal reports.
Formal reports have a set structure: an introduction, body and conclusion. However, informal reports can be structured in any way. Formal reports also have a formal tone and use third-person narrative, while most informal reports use first- or second-person narrative. Although some informal reports use a professional tone, it is not required in many cases.