The American Psychological Association (APA) style of referencing, known as an author-date system, is the format used by the University of Auckland Business School to acknowledge sources used in your written work.

APA referencing consists of two parts:

• An "in-text" citation which identifies sources by inserting an author date description in the text.
• A Reference List at the end of the document which gives full details of the sources cited.

In your business report, information is cited by quoting or paraphrasing

• Only in the introduction and the discussion sections of the report
• You do not cite in the Executive summary, the Conclusion, Appendix or a Recommendations section.

Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing should be the main way of using ideas and information from other sources. When you rewrite ideas and opinions from other sources in your own words, you are displaying the critical thinking skills of analysing and synthesising information. In contrast, use direct quotes very sparingly, only to reinforce or justify your views. Both paraphrasing and direct quoting require APA referencing format.