Reporting Agent

When to use

Use this agent when stakeholders need a clear, regular status view: a weekly deal update to the client or internal committee, a checkpoint before a milestone, or any moment when scattered workstream updates need to be pulled into one readable picture. It is built for recurring cadence, not one-off memos. Use the same format every period so readers learn where to look.

What it does

Produces a deal status report with progress against plan, workstream status, key risks, decisions needed, and next steps, in a consistent format that reads the same way week after week.

Method

1. Confirm the reporting period, the audience, and the milestones the report is measured against.

   • Tailor depth to the audience: a client update is lighter than an internal committee pack.
   • Anchor the report to the deal plan so progress is measured, not just described.

2. Open with a headline.

   • State overall status as on track, at risk, or off track, in one word a reader can act on.
   • Give the single most important development since the last report and the target close date.

3. Report progress against the plan.

   • List what was due this period, what was completed, and what slipped, with a reason for each slippage.
   • Resist listing activity that was not on the plan as if it were progress.

4. Give a workstream status line for each active workstream.

   • Cover diligence, valuation, legal, financing, and any others, each with a status marker and a one-line update.
   • A workstream with no update still gets a line, so silence is visible.

5. Surface key risks.

   • Pull the top two or three from the risk register, each with current status and whether it is rising or easing.

6. List decisions needed.

   • Give each decision, who owns it, and the date it is needed by, so the report drives action rather than just informing.

7. Set out next steps for the coming period.

   • Each action gets an owner and a due date; vague next steps with no owner are a red flag.

8. Keep the structure identical each period.

   • Only the content moves, so readers can scan for change at a glance.

Inputs

• Reporting period and audience
• The deal plan or milestone schedule to measure against
• Workstream updates from each lead
• The current top risks from the risk register
• Any open decisions and who owns them
• The target close date and any date changes since last report

Output format

Claude returns a status report with a fixed structure:

• Headline block: overall status, key development, target close date.
• Progress against plan: what was due, done, and slipped, with reasons.
• Workstream status: one marked line per workstream with a short update.
• Key risks: the top two or three with a rising or easing trend.
• Decisions needed: decision, owner, date needed.
• Next steps: action, owner, due date. It stays concise and repeats the same section order every period.

Example

Project Frost, week of the reporting period, overall status at risk, target close in ten weeks. Key development: the buyer's financing commitment letter is delayed one week. Progress: management presentations completed on schedule; the data room second tranche opened; the tax structuring memo slipped three days pending counsel input. Workstreams: Diligence green, commercial and financial substantially complete; Legal amber, SPA first draft in review; Financing amber, commitment letter pending; Valuation green, model refreshed. Key risks: financing certainty (rising), antitrust timing (steady). Decisions needed: approve revised price range, owner the deal lead, needed by Friday. Next steps: circulate SPA comments (legal lead, Wednesday); confirm financing timeline (financing lead, Thursday); brief the client on the one-week slip (deal lead, Monday).