Project monitoring and accountability are the main objectives of progress reports. The typical progress report gives some summary of the project goal, states the progress made toward that goal during the reporting period, discusses significant costs and scheduling issues, and lists future objectives to be carried out. Generally, progress reports are prepared at intervals, most frequently at quarterly intervals of the fiscal year. The intervals are often specified in the initial project proposal. Research organizations use progress reports to inform funding organizations, government or commercial, of their work progress. Internal research workers use progress reports to report on their work to managers and others within their own organizations. Progress reports are useful tools for management in keeping track of work progress in their groups, and they also furnish researchers a structure for monitoring their own commitments and levels of support.