Good and poor examples of executive summaries
This is a GOOD example from an Accounting & Finance assignment.
Footnote
Executive Summary
This report provides an analysis and evaluation of the current and
prospective profitability, liquidity and financial stability of
Outdoor Equipment Ltd. Methods of analysis
include trend, 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 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.
The report finds the prospects of the company
in its current position are not positive. The major areas of weakness
require further investigation and remedial action by management.
Recommendations discussed include:
improving the average collection period for accounts receivable·
improving/increasing inventory turnover·
reducing prepayments and perhaps increasing inventory levels
The report also investigates the fact that the analysis conducted
has limitations. Some of the limitations include:
forecasting figures are not provided nature and type of company
is not known nor the current economic conditions data limitations
as not enough information is provided or enough detail i.e. monthly
details not known results are based on past performances not present |
subject matter
methods of analysis
Findings
Conclusions
Recommendations (note that conclusions
and recommendations can be bulleted)
Limitations of the report. |
Excerpt from
Woodward-Kron, R. (1997) Writing in Commerce: a guide to assist Commerce
students with assignment writing, (Revised edition), Centre for the Advancement
of Teaching and Learning, The University of Newcastle.
This is a GOOD example of an executive summary from a marketing report.
This report
was commissioned to examine why the
sales volume of Choice Chocolate has dropped over the past two years
since its peak in 1998 and to recommend ways of increasing the volume.
The research draws attention to
the fact that in 1998, 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 $36 million. Over the next two
years, although Choice Chocolate retained its market share the volume
of sales in the whole market decreased to $29 million. 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 1999, an increasing number of rival ‘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.
Slim Choice is the latest chocolate range
put forward by the R & D Department of Choice Chocolate. The
report evaluates this range and concludes
that it would be an ideal candidate to meet the challenge presented
by the market and could satisfy the new consumer demand since it
uses significantly reduced milk and sugar ingredients and is endorsed
by renowned health experts. According to 97% of the 2000 subjects
tested recently, it also retains the same flavour as the original
range.
It is recommended:
that Choice Chocolate take immediate measures to launch and promote
Slim Choice alongside its existing product range;
that Slim Choice adopt a fresh and healthy image;
that part of the launch campaign contains product endorsement statements
by renowned health experts;
that Slim Choice be available in health food shops as well as in
traditional chocolate retail outlets |
Terms of reference
Statement of problem/ topic
Formal language appropriate to report writing
Key findings summarised
Problem solution summarised
Recommendations summarised |
This is a POOR example of an executive summary from a marketing assignment
Executive Summary
Every time a business or consumer purchases products or services
they display forms of buyer behaviour that are influenced by many
factors. The following report looks at
the fast food industry and will analyse four McDonalds’ key products
and services. It highlights what
type of consumer buying or business buying behaviours are displayed
in the purchase of a product or service and explains why each behaviour
may occur. This enables a conclusion to be drawn from applying theory
to reality. Although a full comprehension
of buying behaviour is impossible, since everyone is an individual,
it is useful to reflect on common behaviours and attempt to divide
behaviours in types and stages. Even McDonalds, a leader in marketing
cannot always predict consumer behaviour. |
Background to problem
Report’s aims
Outlines what information the report deals
with but FAILS to provide a summary of the results gained, conclusions
drawn and recommendations made. These are the functions of an executive
summary and are absent in this example.
The information in this executive summary
is vague rather than summarising what the report found. |
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2000
Comments and questions should
be directed to Unilearning@uow.edu.au
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