Executive summary example: six annotated samples and a checklist

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.

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#

• 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#

• 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#

• 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#

• 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#

• 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#

• 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.

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.

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.

Yes. In a deck it is slide 2, and its title is the conclusion. The executive summary slide template 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, a consulting proposal, a project status report and an investor update.

The title of a summary slide is an action title, a full sentence that states the conclusion. The structure under it is the pyramid principle: the answer first, the support grouped below. Each sentence should also survive the so what test: when the reader asks “so what?”, the next sentence answers.

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.