---
name: annual-report-writer
description: "Creates annual reports for stakeholders with narrative sections, metric highlights, and forward-looking statements. Use when summarizing yearly performance for investors, partners, or your team."
allowed-tools: Read Write Glob
metadata:
  author: matthewhitcham
  version: "1.0"
---

# Annual Report Writer

## When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when you need to:
- Write a yearly performance report for stakeholders, investors, or partners
- Create an end-of-year summary for your team or community
- Produce a public annual report that builds credibility and transparency
- Summarize key metrics, milestones, and forward-looking plans in a professional document

**DO NOT** use this skill for monthly reports, financial statements, or compliance filings. This is for narrative annual reports.

---

## Core Principle

AN ANNUAL REPORT TELLS THE STORY OF YOUR YEAR — NUMBERS PROVIDE PROOF, BUT THE NARRATIVE PROVIDES MEANING AND DIRECTION.

---

## Phase 1: Brief

### Required Inputs

| Input | What to Ask | Default |
|-------|------------|---------|
| **Business name** | "What is your business?" | No default — must be provided |
| **Reporting period** | "What year or period does this cover?" | Previous calendar year |
| **Audience** | "Who reads this? Investors, partners, team, public?" | Stakeholders and partners |
| **Key metrics** | "Share your most important numbers: revenue, users, growth rate, etc." | No default — must be provided |
| **Major milestones** | "What were the 3-5 biggest achievements this year?" | No default — must be provided |
| **Challenges** | "What went wrong or was harder than expected?" | None stated — will probe |
| **Next year goals** | "What are the top priorities for the coming year?" | No default — must be provided |

**GATE: Confirm all inputs before outlining.**

---

## Phase 2: Outline

### Annual Report Structure

```
1. Letter from the Founder/CEO (~300 words)
2. Year at a Glance — key metrics dashboard
3. Major Milestones & Achievements (~500 words)
4. Challenges & Lessons Learned (~300 words)
5. Financial Highlights (~300 words)
6. Team & Culture (~200 words)
7. Looking Ahead — goals and priorities for next year (~300 words)
8. Thank You / Closing Statement (~100 words)
```

**GATE: Approve outline before writing.**

---

## Phase 3: Write

### 1. Founder Letter

```
## Letter from [Name], [Title]

[Opening — personal reflection on the year, 2-3 sentences]

[Key theme of the year — what defined this period]

[Top 2-3 achievements in brief]

[Honest acknowledgment of one challenge and what was learned]

[Forward-looking statement — excitement about the year ahead]

[Sign-off]
[Name]
```

Rules: First person, conversational but professional. Authentic, not corporate. Under 300 words.

### 2. Year at a Glance

```
## [Year] at a Glance

| Metric | [Year] | [Previous Year] | Change |
|--------|--------|-----------------|--------|
| Revenue | $[X] | $[X] | [+/-X%] |
| Customers | [X] | [X] | [+/-X%] |
| [Key metric 3] | [X] | [X] | [+/-X%] |
| [Key metric 4] | [X] | [X] | [+/-X%] |

**Highlight:** [One standout number with context — e.g., "Revenue grew 47%, our fastest year of growth since launch."]
```

### 3. Milestones Section

For each milestone:
```
### [Milestone Name]

[What happened — 2-3 sentences]
[Why it matters — 1-2 sentences on impact]
[Supporting metric if available]
```

### 4. Challenges Section

```
## Challenges & Lessons Learned

[Honest but constructive framing. Not "we failed at X" but "X was harder than expected, and here is what we learned."]

- **[Challenge 1]:** [What happened + what was learned + what changed]
- **[Challenge 2]:** [Same format]
```

### 5. Looking Ahead

```
## Looking Ahead: [Next Year]

**Priority 1:** [Goal] — [Why it matters, 1 sentence]
**Priority 2:** [Goal] — [Why it matters]
**Priority 3:** [Goal] — [Why it matters]

[Closing statement — confidence and gratitude, 2-3 sentences]
```

### Writing Rules

| Rule | Detail |
|------|--------|
| **Tone** | Professional, transparent, optimistic but honest |
| **Data** | Every claim backed by a number |
| **Challenges** | Acknowledge at least one — credibility requires honesty |
| **Length** | 2,000-3,000 words total for a small business report |
| **Visuals** | Mark where charts, graphs, and photos should appear |

---

## Phase 4: Polish

### 1. Report Checklist

```
## Annual Report Checklist

- [ ] Founder letter is personal and authentic (not corporate boilerplate)
- [ ] Key metrics are presented with year-over-year comparison
- [ ] At least 3 milestones are highlighted with context
- [ ] Challenges are acknowledged honestly
- [ ] Forward-looking section has 3 specific priorities
- [ ] Visuals/chart placements are noted
- [ ] Tone is consistent throughout
- [ ] Word count is appropriate for the audience (2,000-3,000 for small business)
- [ ] Report tells a coherent story from beginning to end
```

### 2. Design Notes

Provide layout suggestions for visual presentation (charts, photos, pull quotes).

### 3. Distribution Plan

Suggest how to share the report: email to stakeholders, blog post, social media highlights, PDF download.

---

## Example: Annual Report for a SaaS Startup

```
Founder letter theme: "The year we proved the model works"
Key metrics: Revenue $480K (+120%), 1,200 customers (+85%), churn 3.2% (-1.1pp)
Milestones: Launched v2.0, hit $40K MRR, hired first 3 team members
Challenge: Customer onboarding took 3x longer than expected — rebuilt the process
Looking ahead: Reach $1M ARR, launch mobile app, expand to EU market
```

---

## Anti-Patterns

- **All positive, no challenges** — a report with zero challenges reads as dishonest. Acknowledge at least one difficulty.
- **Numbers without context** — "$500K revenue" means nothing without comparison. Always show growth, benchmarks, or targets.
- **Corporate buzzwords** — "Leveraged synergies to optimize stakeholder value" tells nobody anything. Use plain language.
- **No forward-looking section** — a report that only looks backward misses the opportunity to build confidence in the future.
- **Too long** — a 20-page annual report for a 5-person company is overkill. Match length to business size.

---

## Recovery

- **No financial data to share:** Focus on operational metrics (customers, projects, milestones) and qualitative achievements. Note that financial data was excluded.
- **Year was rough:** Frame around resilience and lessons. "This year tested us — here is what we learned and how we are stronger for it."
- **No year-over-year comparison (first year):** Compare to goals or industry benchmarks instead.
- **Multiple audiences:** Write one core report. Add an appendix for investors with detailed financials.
- **User does not know their metrics:** Help them identify the 4-5 most important numbers to track. Flag this as a priority for next year.
