EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Prepared by
Dr. B. Neelambaram
Assistant Professor
Department of English
V.R. Siddhartha Engineering College
(Autonomous)
Vijayawada - 7
What is an Executive Summary
An executive summary (or management summary) is a short document or
section of a document produced for business purposes. It summarizes a
longer report or proposal or a group of related reports in such a way that
readers can rapidly become acquainted with a large body of material
without having to read it all. It usually contains a brief statement of the
problem or proposal covered in the major document(s), background
information, concise analysis and main conclusions. It is intended as an
aid to decision-making by managers and has been described as the most
important part of a business plan.
An executive summary differs from an abstract in that an abstract will
usually be shorter and is typically intended as an overview or orientation
rather than being a condensed version of the full document. Abstracts are
extensively used in academic research where the concept of the executive
summary is not in common usage. "An abstract is a brief summarizing
statement... read by parties who are trying to decide whether or not to
read the main document", while "an executive summary, unlike an
abstract, is a document in miniature that may be read in place of the
longer document"
 Structure of an Executive Summary
There is general agreement on the structure of an executive
summary - books and training courses emphasise similar points.
Typically, an executive summary will:

 be approximately 5-10% of the length of the main report

 be written in language appropriate for the target audience
 consist of short, concise paragraphs
 begin with a summary
 be written in the same order as the main report
 only include material present in the main report
 make recommendations
 provide a justification
  have a conclusion
 be readable separately from the main report
 sometimes summarize more than one document
Importance of Executive Summary
Executive summaries are important as a communication
tool in both academia and business. For example, members
of Texas A&M University Department of Agricultural
Economics observe that "An executive summary is an initial
interaction between the writers of the report and their
target readers: decision makers, potential customers,
and/or peers. A business leader’s decision to continue
reading a certain report often depends on the impression
the executive summary gives."
How to prepare an Executive Summary
It is important to keep in mind to whom you are writing your summary. Your audience may
not be versed in the technical language of your profession and may only focus on specific
business needs.
The executive summary should address these main points:
 Purpose
What is the point of the document? Are you trying to influence management? Are
you trying to make a change in a hospital? Make sure you have a purpose when writing the
summary.
 Problem
What issue needs addressing? Why is it an issue? Why are you where you are?
 Problem Analysis
What can be changed or improved?
 Results of analysis
What did you find while researching the issue? What methods did you use? How do
you know your resources are valid, reliable, and credible?
 Recommendations
What can you do to address this issue? How will you achieve your recommendations?
How will this help? What action can be taken?

How to write an Executive Summary?

Keep in mind that the executive summary is the first thing your reader is
going to see and may be the only thing your reader will look through
before making a decision about action or inaction. Be sure to use concise
language and bullet points to present your ideas. Here is an example of a
way to organize your summary:

 Define the problem, need, or goal

 Define the decision that needs to be made
 Define the expected outcome and provide the reasons why they
should choose the option that you want
 Define the solution and how you reached the solution
 End with a call to action
Remember, your summary should grab the reader's attention. Lay out
why this is so important and how it will benefit/impact them and/or the
business. Be sure to use language that relates to them and avoid any
technical jargon.

Things to be avoided while drafting E.S

An executive summary is NOT:
 An abstract
 An introduction
 A preface
 A random collection of highlights
An executive summary is a stand-alone document and
should make sense without any other information. You will
want to avoid these common mistakes when writing your
summary:  Do not get too lengthy or wordy - keep it to 3-5
pages
 Do not cut and paste information
 Avoid excessive subtitles and lists
 Do not get too technical
 Do not use passive or imprecise language
Sample Executive Summary
The report is commissioned to examine Why the sales Statement of Problem/Topic
volume of Choice Chocolate has dropped over the past
two years since its peak in 2018 and to recommend
ways of increasing the volume.
The research draws attention to the fact that in 2018, Key findings summarised
the market share of Choice Chocolate was 37%. The
shares of their key competitors such as Venus and
Bradbury were 22% and 18% respectively. The size of
the chocolate market then was Rs.1200 Crore. Over
the next two years, although Choice Chocolate
retained its market share the volume of sales in the
whole market decreased to Rs.930 Crore. Further
investigations reveal that this market shrinkage
coincided with an increase in health awareness
amongst consumers who regard the milk and sugar
ingredients in chocolate as negative. Moreover since
the second half of 2019, an increasing number of rivals
“health candies” had appeared on the market. These
claimed to offer the consumers a healthy alternative.
These factors appear to be the major causes of the
decreased sales volume of Choice Chocolate.
 Sample Executive Summary
This report provides an analysis and Subject Matter
evaluation of the current and
prospective profitability, liquidity and
financial stability of Outdoor Equipment
Ltd
Methods of analysis include trend, Methods of Analysis
horizontal and vertical analyses as well
as ratios such as Debt, Current and
Quick ratios. Other calculations include
rates of return on Shareholders’ Equity
and Total Assets and earnings per share
to name a few.
All calculations can be found in the Findings
appendices. Results of data analysed
show that all ratios are below industry
averages. In particular, comparative
performance is poor in the areas of
profit margins, liquidity, credit control,
and inventory management.
God Bless!