# Executive summary example: six annotated samples and a checklist > A good executive summary opens with its conclusion, puts one number next to it and ends with the decision the reader should take. Six annotated, fictional examples show this in a business plan, a project report, a proposal, an annual report, a consulting study and an investor update. A nine-point checklist tests your own summary: first sentence, number, ask, arithmetic and length. - Source: https://ai-presentations.com/guides/executive-summary-examples/ - Updated: 22 October 2026 - Language: English - German version: https://ai-presentations.com/de/ratgeber/management-summary-beispiel/ **A good executive summary opens with its conclusion, puts one number next to it and ends with the decision the reader should take.** The six examples below show that pattern in six different documents: a business plan, a project report, a proposal, an annual report, a consulting study and an investor update. Each one is annotated, and a checklist at the end tests your own. Every company, name and figure in the examples is invented, and the arithmetic in each one adds up. Borrow the structure and the checks, not the facts. ## What does a good executive summary look like? A good executive summary answers three questions in its first paragraph: what should the reader conclude, how big is it, and what do you want from them. The rest of the page gives the few reasons that make the answer believable. The order of those parts changes with the document and the reader. The answer comes first in all six examples below; what follows, and what the ask looks like, differs. | Document | Reader | Opens with | The ask | | ---------------- | -------------------- | --------------------------------------- | --------------------------- | | Business plan | A lender | What the company does, then the request | An amount and its use | | Project report | Steering committee | Status and its consequence | A decision by a date | | Proposal | A prospective client | The client's problem in its own numbers | A confirmation by a date | | Annual report | Shareholders | The year in two figures | A resolution at the meeting | | Consulting study | A board | The recommendation and its effect | Approval at a named meeting | | Investor update | Existing investors | The headline metric and the runway | Specific requests | ## Six executive summary examples Each example is a complete summary, followed by three notes on what its first sentence, its number and its ask are doing. ### Business plan executive summary example > **Example: Business plan, fictional: Valdermoor Cold Chain** > > Valdermoor Cold Chain delivers chilled and frozen goods to independent grocers that the big wholesalers' routes do not reach. We ask for a €1.2m loan to grow from three vans to eight in 2027 and to reach break-even in month 19. > > Independent grocers lose stock when a chilled delivery arrives late. In a nine-month pilot our three vans served 42 shops and delivered 96% of orders within the agreed hour. A further 18 shops have signed letters of intent worth €0.4m a year. > > Revenue is planned at €1.5m in year one, €2.6m in year two and €3.6m in year three, when the fleet reaches 14 vans. EBITDA turns positive in year two. The loan pays for five vans (€450,000), cold-room fit-out and routing software (€250,000) and working capital (€500,000), together €1.2m. We propose to repay it over six years, starting in month 13. - **First sentence:** says what the company does and for whom in one line. The second sentence already carries the ask, so a lender knows within seconds what the document wants. - **The number:** the money has to add up, and a lender checks that first: €450,000 + €250,000 + €500,000 = €1.2m. - **The ask:** stated at the top (amount, purpose, break-even month) and again at the end with the use of funds and the repayment plan. ### Project report executive summary example > **Example: Project report, fictional: Project Harbor** > > **Project Harbor (ERP migration), status at 16 October: amber.** Go-live moves six weeks, from 1 March to 12 April 2027, and the forecast cost rises by €0.2m to €2.6m. We need the steering committee to release the €0.2m by 12 November. > > - **Progress:** 65% of the work is done, and €1.68m (70%) of the €2.4m budget is spent. > - **Cause:** two warehouse interfaces were underestimated (€0.14m), and cleaning the customer data took nine weeks instead of five (€0.06m). Together that is €0.2m, or 8% of the budget. > - **Unchanged:** scope, team and test plan. No further overrun is expected once the interfaces are finished in December. > - **Risk:** if the interfaces slip past 15 January, go-live moves to May and costs rise by a further €0.1m. The remaining reserve would cover it. > > **Decision needed by 12 November:** release €0.2m of the €0.3m reserve and approve the new go-live date of 12 April. - **First sentence:** gives status, consequence and request in one place. The word “amber” lets a reader who scans a dozen reports a week see which one needs attention. - **The number:** the overrun sits in the first sentence, and the cause line splits it (€0.14m + €0.06m = €0.2m), so nobody has to ask where it comes from. - **The ask:** the bold closing line names the sum, what stays in the reserve and the date. It repeats the opening request in the form of a decision. ### Proposal executive summary example > **Example: Proposal, fictional: for Alderwick Logistics** > > Returns handling costs Alderwick Logistics €1.9m a year: 31,000 parcels at €61 each. We propose a ten-week project to cut that cost by a fifth, a target worth about €380,000 a year, for a fixed fee of €86,000. > > How we would do it: > > 1. **Diagnose (weeks 1 to 3, €24,000):** follow 400 returns from the dock to the shelf and find where the time goes. > 2. **Design (weeks 4 to 7, €36,000):** agree a new sorting process with your two site leads. > 3. **Pilot (weeks 8 to 10, €26,000):** run it at one site and measure the cost per parcel again. > > The fee is fixed and excludes VAT. At the target saving it is earned back in under three months of full operation. > > **To start on 30 November, please confirm by 13 November.** The team of three is reserved for you until then. - **First sentence:** describes the client's problem in the client's own numbers, so the reader sees their situation before they see your firm. - **The number:** the fee splits into three phases that add up (€24,000 + €36,000 + €26,000 = €86,000), and the benefit sits right beside it, so the reader can weigh one against the other. - **The ask:** a date and a consequence. A proposal that ends with “we look forward to hearing from you” leaves the date to chance. ### Annual report executive summary example > **Example: Annual report, fictional: Brennick Fasteners AG** > > **Brennick Fasteners grew revenue by 7.9% to €212.4m in 2025 and raised its operating margin to 9.0%.** Cash flow reduced debt, and the board proposes a dividend of €0.60 per share. > > Key figures, 2025 against 2024: > > - **Revenue:** €212.4m, up from €196.8m. > - **Operating profit (EBIT):** €19.1m, up from €15.7m. The margin rose from 8.0% to 9.0%, an increase of 1.0 percentage point. > - **Net debt:** €32.5m, down from €41.0m. > - **Net income:** €13.4m. > > Growth came from the automotive and wind-energy segments, up 11% and 14%; the building segment stayed flat. Price increases covered higher steel costs, and the new plant reached full capacity in September. For 2026 we expect revenue growth of 4% to 6% and a margin of 9% to 10%. One customer accounts for 18% of revenue, and we are working to lower that share. > > **Resolution for the Annual General Meeting on 20 May 2026:** pay a dividend of €0.60 on 10.0m shares, a total of €6.0m or 45% of net income, and carry the remainder forward. - **First sentence:** gives the year in the two figures a reader compares first, growth and margin. It has no adjective to defend. - **The number:** every key figure comes with the prior year beside it, because a figure without a comparison says nothing. The margin change is stated in percentage points (9.0% minus 8.0%), not in percent. - **The ask:** in an annual report the ask is a vote. The last line states the resolution with its amount and the payout ratio, which shareholders will question. ### Consulting study executive summary example > **Example: Consulting study, fictional: Marrowgate Retail Group** > > **Marrowgate Retail should close nine of its 62 stores and convert five more; together that improves operating profit by €5.7m a year.** Both steps pay back in about ten months, and we ask the board to approve them on 3 December. > > 1. **Fourteen stores lose money, €6.3m in total.** The other 48 earn €31.7m, so the losers cut group operating profit from €31.7m to €25.4m. > 2. **Nine of the 14 cannot be fixed.** Footfall has fallen at all nine for three years, and their leases end within 24 months. They lose €5.1m a year. > 3. **Five can be fixed by changing the format.** A smaller store with a click-and-collect point halved the loss in our pilot. The five lose €1.2m today. > > **Recommendation:** close or sublet the nine at lease end and convert the five. One-off costs are €4.9m (€3.4m for exits, €1.5m for conversions). The annual gain is €5.7m: €5.1m from the closures and €0.6m from the conversions. > > **Decision on 3 December:** approve the plan so that notices can go out in January. - **First sentence:** the whole answer as a recommendation with its effect. A board member who stops here can still decide, which is the test for a consulting summary. - **The number:** every finding carries one figure, and they reconcile: 9 + 5 = 14 stores, €5.1m + €1.2m = €6.3m of losses, and €5.1m + €0.6m = €5.7m of gain. - **The ask:** the last line names the decision, the date and the next step. The one-off cost sits just above it, so the board sees what it commits to. ### Investor update executive summary example > **Example: Investor update, fictional: Pellwick Software, Q3** > > **Pellwick Software, Q3 update: ARR grew 21% to €1.84m, and we have 16 months of cash.** Churn was the soft spot, and we have two requests. > > **Numbers** > > - ARR: €1.84m, up €0.32m from €1.52m in Q2. > - The change: €0.41m from new customers and €0.06m from expansion, minus €0.15m of churn. > - Cash: €2.31m. Monthly burn is €142,000, which gives 16 months of runway. > > **Highlight:** three manufacturing customers signed, each above €40,000 a year. > > **Lowlight:** four small customers left, taking €0.15m of ARR. All four paid less than €50,000 and used the product less than weekly. We have changed how we onboard small accounts. > > **Requests** > > 1. An introduction to finance directors at manufacturers with 200 to 1,000 employees. We have a list of 40 target accounts. > 2. Your view on hiring a head of sales in Q1. - **First sentence:** the headline metric, its growth and the runway in one line, which are the two things investors ask first. The bad news follows in the second sentence, not on page three. - **The number:** the ARR bridge closes (€1.52m + €0.41m + €0.06m minus €0.15m = €1.84m), and the runway is cash divided by burn: €2.31m over €142,000 is about 16 months. - **The ask:** numbered and specific enough to answer in one reply. The opening line already says there are two. ## Executive summary checklist Run these nine checks before you send a summary. One that passes all nine can be read alone and acted on. 1. **The first sentence states a conclusion.** It says what you found or recommend, not what the document covers. 2. **A cold reader can act.** Show only the summary to a colleague outside the project and ask what they would decide. 3. **One number carries the argument.** It has a unit and a comparison: last year, the budget or the target. 4. **The ask is specific.** It names a decision, an amount, a date and who decides. 5. **The parts add up.** A use of funds, a cost bridge or a fee split sums to its total. 6. **Every figure matches the body.** Check the rounding as well; two versions of one number cost more credibility than any wording. 7. **The main risk is named.** One sentence is enough. A reader who finds the risk alone trusts the rest less. 8. **Nothing is new.** Every statement appears, with its evidence, further into the document. 9. **It fits on one page.** In a deck it is one slide, placed second. ## How long should an executive summary be, and where does it go? One page for most documents, half a page for a short one and one slide in a deck. It goes at the very front, after the title page and before the introduction, because it is the part a busy reader may read alone. Write it last. A summary written first describes what you hoped to find; written last, it states what you found. ## Can an executive summary be a single slide? Yes. In a deck it is slide 2, and its title is the conclusion. The [executive summary slide template](https://ai-presentations.com/templates/executive-summary/) has an eight-slide example deck whose second slide does this job, with the six slides after it carrying the evidence. The other kinds above have decks as well: a [business plan](https://ai-presentations.com/templates/business-plan/), a [consulting proposal](https://ai-presentations.com/templates/consulting-proposal/), a [project status report](https://ai-presentations.com/templates/project-status-report/) and an [investor update](https://ai-presentations.com/templates/investor-update/). The title of a summary slide is an [action title](https://ai-presentations.com/guides/action-titles/), a full sentence that states the conclusion. The structure under it is the [pyramid principle](https://ai-presentations.com/guides/pyramid-principle/): the answer first, the support grouped below. Each sentence should also survive the [so what](https://ai-presentations.com/glossary/so-what/) test: when the reader asks “so what?”, the next sentence answers. ## Can AI write an executive summary? Yes, as a first draft. The AI can condense a long report, but it cannot know which conclusion you want to stand behind or which decision you need, so give it both. Then check every figure against the report. Slaide, the tool behind this site, can draft the summary from an attached PDF or Word report, as a slide or as an A4 page. **Prompt: A brief for an executive summary** ```text Write a one-page executive summary of the attached [report] for [reader, e.g. the management board]. Start with the recommendation in one sentence, then give the one number that carries it with its comparison, then three short findings that support it, then the biggest risk. End with the decision we need: [decision], [amount] and [date]. Use only figures that appear in the report, and flag any figure you cannot find in it. ``` **Key takeaways** - Open with the conclusion, put one number beside it and end with a decision, an amount and a date. - The order of the rest depends on the document; the answer comes first in all of them. - Make the parts add up and match every figure to the body before you send. - One page in a document, one slide in a deck: write it last and put it first. ## Frequently asked questions ### What is an example of an executive summary? A short one: “Project Harbor goes live six weeks late and €0.2m over budget; we need the steering committee to release the €0.2m by 12 November.” It opens with the conclusion, carries one number and names the decision. The six full examples on this page show the same pattern in six kinds of document. ### How long should an executive summary be? One page for most written documents, about half a page for a short one and one slide in a deck. The test is whether a reader who sees only the summary can make the decision. If it needs more room, it probably holds more than one message. ### What should an executive summary include? Four things in this order: the conclusion or recommendation, the one number that supports it, a few lines of findings or reasons, and the ask with a date. Add the biggest risk if the reader will care about it. Leave out background, method and anything the reader already knows. ### How do you write an executive summary for a business plan? Open with what the company does and for whom, then state the request: the amount and what it pays for. Add one proof point, such as a pilot result or a signed letter of intent, and the key figures: revenue, break-even and a use of funds that adds up to the amount. Write it last and keep it to one page. ### What is the difference between an executive summary and an abstract? An abstract describes what a paper covers so a reader can decide whether to read it. An executive summary gives the conclusions and the ask so that a busy reader can act without reading the rest. Business documents use executive summaries; abstracts belong to academic papers. ### Where does the executive summary go in a report? At the very front, after the title page and before the introduction, because it is the part a busy reader may read alone. Write it last, once the findings are final, and then move it to the front. ## Related pages - [Executive summary](https://ai-presentations.com/templates/executive-summary/): Lead with the recommendation, the one number that matters, the options compared and the decision you need. Template with an 8-slide example. - [Pyramid principle](https://ai-presentations.com/guides/pyramid-principle/): The pyramid principle by Barbara Minto: give the answer first, group the support and order it. With a worked example and an outline you can reuse for a deck. - [Action titles](https://ai-presentations.com/guides/action-titles/): Write slide headlines as full sentences. Six rules for action titles, twelve before-and-after examples and a quick test you can run on any deck. - [So what](https://ai-presentations.com/glossary/so-what/): The “so what” is the implication of a fact: why it matters to the audience and what they should do about it. Definition, examples and a test for slides. - [Annual report](https://ai-presentations.com/templates/annual-report/): An 8-slide annual report presentation for shareholders and boards: summary, key figures, revenue by segment, cash flow, priorities, outlook and resolutions. - [Consulting presentation](https://ai-presentations.com/templates/consulting-presentation/): A consulting presentation template with 9 slides: executive summary, situation, causes, options, recommendation, roadmap, business case and decision. --- ai-presentations.com is published by Slaide (https://www.slaide.de), a sole proprietorship run by Nathalie Scholl in Heilbronn, Germany. [How this site is written, checked and corrected](https://ai-presentations.com/editorial-policy/).