One page max for exec summary. Hit the big numbers up front - total savings, percentage of their annual bill, payback period. Details go in appendix.
Member Community
Enter your email to read this discussion
You're reading the AAUBA Member Forum — where Certified Utility Bill Auditors share case studies, tariff strategies, and industry insights.
Free to read. Enter your email to continue.
No spam. We'll send you one welcome email about CUBA certification. Unsubscribe any time.
Executive Summary Best Practices - Keep It Short!
Agree with Steven. I use bullet points heavily. First bullet is always the total dollar impact. Had a Duke Energy audit last month - led with "Annual savings opportunity: $23,400" and the rest practically sold itself.
Don't forget the "what if we do nothing" angle. I always include a line like "Over 5 years, these billing errors will cost approximately $235,000 if uncorrected." Gets their attention.
Jennifer, what's the breakdown of that $47k? Demand charges, power factor penalties, or tariff misclassification? Might help structure your summary better.
Good question Meredith. $28k was incorrect demand billing (they were on Schedule 19 but should have been on Schedule 46), $12k power factor penalties that could be avoided with capacitors, $7k in meter reading errors. Mix of utility mistakes and operational fixes.
Perfect - lead with the tariff issue since that's pure gravy, then the operational stuff. CFOs love the easy money first, shows immediate ROI on your audit fee.
One more tip - include a simple timeline. "Month 1: File tariff change request. Month 2: Install power factor correction. Month 3: Begin realizing full savings." Executives love actionable timelines.
Working on a big presentation for a manufacturing client - found $47k in billing errors over 18 months. My executive summary is running 3 pages though. What's your rule of thumb for length? CFO types don't want to read War and Peace.