Prompt: Explain the numbers to the business owner
Finance · Time: 15 min
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.Placeholders to fill in
{{period}}{{amount}}{{percent}}{{line item, amount, scale}}
Works well in
- Gemini in Google Docs $14/mo
- Claude $20/mo
- ChatGPT $20/mo
- Copilot in Word $20/mo
How to check the answer
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
Step-by-step versions by role
- Explain the numbers to the business owner: Accountant
- Explain the numbers to the business owner: Finance manager
- Explain the numbers to the business owner: Data analyst
- Explain the numbers to the business owner: Tax consultant
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