Explain the numbers to the business owner

Finance manager · Time: 15 min · Finance

Tools that fit this task

• ChatGPT $20/mo
• Claude $20/mo
• Copilot in Word $20/mo
• Gemini in Google Docs $14/mo

Prompt

Role: you are a financial controller writing a short explanation for a business owner.
Context: period {{period}}. Key numbers: revenue {{amount}} (plan {{amount}}), costs {{amount}} (plan {{amount}}), margin {{percent}}%, cash balance {{amount}}. Main variances: {{line item, amount, scale}}, {{line item, amount, scale}}, {{line item, amount, scale}}.
Task: write the explanation in this structure: 1) What changed, two or three sentences. 2) Where the risks are, three points. 3) Recommended actions, three points with deadlines. Take numbers only from this block. Where the cause of a variance is needed, write [CAUSE, confirm] instead of guessing.
Format: business tone, up to 200 words, no long dashes and no filler phrases.

Steps

1. Write out the block of key numbers: period, revenue, costs, margin, the three main variances with their scale, cash balance
2. Give the assistant only this block with a prompt for an explanation in a strict structure
3. Get the text: what changed, where the risks are, what actions to take, with markers where a cause is needed
4. Replace the markers with real causes you have confirmed and check every number against the block
5. Ask it to cut the text by a third and remove generic phrases
6. Add a title, the date and your name, and reread it through the owner's eyes: is it clear within a minute

How to check the result

The text is under 200 words, every number matches the source, every variance has a confirmed cause, and after reading the owner asks about decisions rather than numbers

Pitfalls

• The model invents plausible causes for variances: without a [CAUSE, confirm] marker in the prompt you cannot tell inventions from facts
• Numbers in the draft are sometimes rounded or have a flipped sign, so check each one against the source

Data that stays out of public AI tools

• Management reports with real names of divisions, products and clients: into a public service with codes and placeholder names
• Receivables and payables with counterparty names and amounts: a trade secret, replace them with codes
• Terms of loans, collateral and investor agreements: never into third-party services without a corporate agreement

Other tasks for finance managers

• Analyze budget variances, actual versus plan
• Build a 12-week cash flow forecast
• Design a KPI dashboard for the business owner
• Get a spreadsheet formula from a plain-language request
• Run a quick counterparty check before a deal
• Build a quarterly results presentation
• Reconcile the trial balance with the bank and source documents
• Categorize a bank statement by cash flow line
• Find discrepancies in a counterparty reconciliation statement
• Write a sales proposal
• Run a risk review of a contract for your side
• Write a weekly report to your manager

AI tools for finance managers · Prompt: Explain the numbers to the business owner