# Steering committee presentation template > A steering committee presentation reports status to the people who decide on budget, scope and dates, and asks them for decisions. This template has eight slides: a status headline, key figures, the schedule, a budget bridge, workstream status, risks and issues, and the decisions you need today. - Source: https://ai-presentations.com/templates/steering-committee/ - Updated: 21 October 2026 - Language: English - German version: https://ai-presentations.com/de/vorlagen/lenkungsausschuss/ For program and project managers, PMO leads and sponsors who report to a steering committee on a project with a budget, milestones and open decisions. ## Slide by slide ### 1. Title: program, meeting and date Committee members see many decks. The title says which program this is, which meeting it belongs to and how current the figures are. - Program name and the meeting date - The date of the figures, if it differs from the meeting - A confidentiality note when budget figures are shown ### 2. Status headline The committee has little time. One slide with the overall status, the main reason and the decisions means a member who reads only this slide knows what is asked of them. - Overall status as red, amber or green, with one number - The main reason for that status in one sentence - The decisions you need, named up front ### 3. Key figures Four numbers answer the questions every committee asks first: are we on schedule, on budget and on track to deliver, and what is open. - Progress against plan, with the gap in percentage points - Forecast at completion against budget - Milestones reached, or sites live - Open critical issues and when they are due ### 4. Schedule Members decide by dates. A bar per site, phase or release with today marked shows what is done, what slipped and what is still ahead. - One bar per phase, site or release - A marker for today - A color rule for done, slipped and on plan, written in a legend line ### 5. Budget bridge A total overrun invites a debate about the total. A bridge from budget to forecast shows what it is made of, so the committee argues about items and not about the sum. - Budget and forecast as the two end bars - Each variance with its sign and amount - Savings next to overruns, so the bridge is honest ### 6. Workstream status A status table shows where to ask questions without reading a report. Each row ties a status to a next milestone and a named person. - One row per workstream, five at most - Status as red, amber or green and a word, not only a color - Next milestone with a date, and an owner ### 7. Risks and issues Committees exist to help with what the team cannot solve alone. This slide lists only the critical items, so help can be offered the same day. - Issue or risk, impact, next step and owner - Issues first, then risks - One date per item ### 8. Decisions A steering committee that leaves without decisions has only listened. The last slide turns the status into questions the committee can answer yes or no. - Each decision as a yes or no question - What happens if the committee does not decide by the date - The date of the next meeting ## Example deck The example is about Fernhill Retail Group, an invented company. Every figure in it is invented too. 1. Warehouse system rollout: steering committee, October 2026. Where the four distribution centers stand, what the forecast shows and the two decisions we need today. Fernhill Retail Group · Program office · 28 October 2026 2. The program is amber: 68% complete against 71% planned, with two decisions due today. 68% complete, plan was 71%. Two of four distribution centers are live. DC West slipped two weeks to 18 November and the forecast is €0.9m over budget. The committee is asked to decide on the budget change and the DC South date. Status rule: amber means up to 5 percentage points behind plan or up to 15% over budget; red is beyond that. 3. Progress is 3 percentage points behind plan, the forecast is 14% over budget and 3 issues are open: Overall progress 68% (3 pp behind the 71% plan); Forecast at completion €7.3m (€0.9m over the €6.4m budget); Distribution centers live 2 of 4 (North and East, on plan); Open critical issues 3 (all due by 12 November) 4. Two centers are live, DC West slipped two weeks to 18 November and DC South is on plan: DC North: live 13 Jul; DC East: live 14 Sep; DC West: live 18 Nov; DC South: live 24 Feb; Hypercare to 30 Apr; Today: 28 Oct 5. The forecast is €0.9m over budget, and returns handling is more than half of it. Rework of the returns module (+€0.5m), the new carrier interface (+€0.3m) and longer hypercare (+€0.2m) add €1.0m. A vendor license discount takes €0.1m back. 6. One workstream is off track, two are at risk and two are on track: Workstream, Status, Next milestone, Owner 7. Three critical issues sit on the path to DC West, and a further slip would hit the freeze: Risk or issue, Impact, Next step, Owner 8. Two decisions for the committee today. The next committee meets on 25 November 2026, one week after DC West goes live. Approve the change request: budget from €6.4m to €7.3m (+€0.9m)? Recommended; without it DC West cannot go live on 18 Nov. Confirm 24 February 2027 for DC South? Recommended; it falls after the design sign-off (11 Dec) and the peak freeze (23 Nov to 4 Jan) ## Tips - **Send the deck two working days ahead.** Members who read the status in advance spend the meeting on decisions. A deck read for the first time in the room gets questions about the figures instead of the choices. - **Lead with the decision, not the history.** Put what you need on slide 2 and repeat it on the last slide. The committee's time is the scarcest resource in the project, so do not spend it on what happened last month. - **Bring one recommendation per decision.** A committee can approve or reject, it cannot design. Offer a recommended option, the alternative and the consequence of each, and say which you prefer. - **Show the trend next to the status.** Amber once is information, amber for the third meeting in a row is a decision. Add the status of the last meeting as a small label next to the current one. - **Agree the numbers with finance first.** A forecast that finance disputes in the room costs the whole meeting. Reconcile figures beforehand and print the date of the data on the slide. ## Common mistakes - Reporting activity instead of status: a list of what the team did last month - Burying bad news in the appendix, so the committee finds it in the meeting - Asking for alignment instead of a decision with a date - More than ten slides, so the decisions arrive after the time is gone - Status colors without a rule, so amber means something different on every slide ## Brief for the AI A complete brief for the AI. Replace the [placeholders] with your facts. ```text Create an 8-slide steering committee presentation for [the steering committee of a warehouse system rollout at Fernhill Retail Group], meeting date [28 October 2026]. Slide 1: title with the program and the date. Slide 2: status headline: [amber, 68% complete against 71% planned], with the two decisions needed. Slide 3: four key figures: [progress 68%, forecast €7.3m against a €6.4m budget, 2 of 4 centers live, 3 open critical issues]. Slide 4: a schedule by site [list the sites and go-live dates], with today marked. Slide 5: a budget bridge from budget to forecast with each variance: [returns +€0.5m, carrier link +€0.3m, hypercare +€0.2m, license deal −€0.1m]. Slide 6: a status table by workstream with red, amber or green, next milestone and owner. Slide 7: the critical issues and the main risk with impact, next step and owner. Slide 8: the decisions needed, written as yes or no questions, and the date of the next meeting. Use action titles and a restrained black and white style. Use only the figures I give you and mark anything you had to assume. ``` [Open this brief in the editor](https://app.slaide.de/registrieren?prompt=Create+an+8-slide+steering+committee+presentation+for+%5Bthe+steering+committee+of+a+warehouse+system+rollout+at+Fernhill+Retail+Group%5D%2C+meeting+date+%5B28+October+2026%5D.+Slide+1%3A+title+with+the+program+and+the+date.+Slide+2%3A+status+headline%3A+%5Bamber%2C+68%25+complete+against+71%25+planned%5D%2C+with+the+two+decisions+needed.+Slide+3%3A+four+key+figures%3A+%5Bprogress+68%25%2C+forecast+%E2%82%AC7.3m+against+a+%E2%82%AC6.4m+budget%2C+2+of+4+centers+live%2C+3+open+critical+issues%5D.+Slide+4%3A+a+schedule+by+site+%5Blist+the+sites+and+go-live+dates%5D%2C+with+today+marked.+Slide+5%3A+a+budget+bridge+from+budget+to+forecast+with+each+variance%3A+%5Breturns+%2B%E2%82%AC0.5m%2C+carrier+link+%2B%E2%82%AC0.3m%2C+hypercare+%2B%E2%82%AC0.2m%2C+license+deal+%E2%88%92%E2%82%AC0.1m%5D.+Slide+6%3A+a+status+table+by+workstream+with+red%2C+amber+or+green%2C+next+milestone+and+owner.+Slide+7%3A+the+critical+issues+and+the+main+risk+with+impact%2C+next+step+and+owner.+Slide+8%3A+the+decisions+needed%2C+written+as+yes+or+no+questions%2C+and+the+date+of+the+next+meeting.+Use+action+titles+and+a+restrained+black+and+white+style.+Use+only+the+figures+I+give+you+and+mark+anything+you+had+to+assume.&utm_source=ai-presentations.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=template%3Asteering-committee&utm_content=markdown) ## Frequently asked questions ### What should be in a steering committee presentation? Lead with the status and the decisions you need. Then show key figures, the schedule, budget against forecast, status by workstream and the critical risks and issues. Eight slides cover it. Keep detail for an appendix and show the committee only what is off plan. ### What does a steering committee decide? It decides what the project lead cannot decide alone: changes to budget, scope or deadline beyond the lead's limits, conflicts between departments, go or no-go at stage gates and the response to critical risks. It does not run the project; that stays with the project lead. ### How is a steering committee presentation different from a status report? A status report informs and can be read on its own. A steering committee presentation prepares decisions, so it is shorter, leads with status and the decisions needed, and shows only exceptions: variances, critical issues and risks. Keep the full detail in the status report. ### How long should a steering committee presentation be? Eight slides or fewer. Plan 30 to 45 minutes for the meeting and keep at least half of it for discussion and decisions. If the status needs more than ten minutes to present, send it in advance and open the meeting with the decisions. ### Can I build this in my company's PowerPoint template? Yes. Upload your company's .pptx and the AI builds the committee slides, from the status headline and key figures to the budget bridge and the decisions, in that file's fonts and colors. The result is an editable PowerPoint file made of ordinary text boxes, shapes and tables. ### Are the numbers in this template real? No. Fernhill Retail Group, the people and all figures are fictional. The arithmetic is consistent: a budget of €6.4m plus €0.5m, €0.3m and €0.2m minus €0.1m gives a forecast of €7.3m, which is €0.9m or 14% over budget. ## Related pages - [Project status report](https://ai-presentations.com/templates/project-status-report/): Report overall status, progress KPIs, schedule, workstreams, budget and risks on 8 slides, and ask sponsors for the decisions you need. With an example deck. - [Project kickoff](https://ai-presentations.com/templates/project-kickoff/): Open a project on 9 slides: goal, scope, success measures, timeline, team, ways of working, risks and the next 30 days. A kickoff template with an example. - [Board presentation](https://ai-presentations.com/templates/board-presentation/): A board presentation template with the 8 slides a quarterly board meeting needs: summary, KPIs, revenue, EBITDA bridge, initiatives, risks and decisions. - [Roadmap](https://ai-presentations.com/templates/roadmap/): A roadmap presentation template with 8 slides: outcomes, now-next-later, release timeline, Gantt chart, capacity, dependencies and the decisions you need. - [Budget presentation](https://ai-presentations.com/templates/budget-presentation/): A budget presentation template with 8 slides: summary, assumptions, income statement, EBITDA bridge, capex, sensitivity and the decisions you need. --- 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/).