# Review transactions for anomalies and fraud indicators

Flags suspicious patterns in transactions and how to investigate them.

- Topic: Finance & Accounting
- Framework: RCTFVV
- Level: Advanced
- Tags: Finance, Analyze, Fill-in Template
- Source: https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/prompts/review-transactions-for-anomalies-and-fraud-indicators

## Prompt

```text
Role: Act as an auditor performing an analytical review of transactions for anomalies and fraud indicators.

Context: Dataset and fields (e.g. vendor payments, expenses, journals): [DATASET_FIELDS]. Period and volume: [PERIOD_VOLUME]. Known control environment and approval limits: [CONTROLS_LIMITS]. Red-flag indicators to test (e.g. round amounts, just-below-approval, duplicate, weekend postings, new vendor + fast payment, split transactions): [INDICATORS]. Materiality / focus: [FOCUS].

Goal: Surface the transactions most worth a closer look, with a clear reason, without accusing anyone on the basis of a pattern alone.

Task: Produce: (1) the test logic for each indicator (how you would define and detect it in this dataset); (2) a ranked findings list - transaction reference, indicator(s) triggered, why it is notable, risk rating, and whether a single innocent explanation is likely; (3) grouped patterns (same vendor / user / period); (4) the specific documents and steps to investigate each top finding; (5) what a clean explanation would look like for each.

Constraints: An anomaly is a question, not a conclusion - never state or imply that a named person committed fraud. Every finding needs a factual basis in the data. Note where the indicator commonly has benign causes. Keep individual references factual.

Examples: Finding row: 'Ref [X] | Indicators: amount 4,950 just below 5,000 limit + vendor added 2 days prior | Risk: high | Benign explanation possible: yes (genuine small purchase) | Investigate: PO, quote, vendor due-diligence file, approver.'

Format: Sections: Indicator test logic | Ranked findings (table) | Pattern groups | Investigation steps per top finding | Clean-explanation criteria. ~650 words.

Verification: State the assumptions behind each detection rule and the false-positive risk; flag indicators that cannot be tested with the fields available.

Validation: Review as a forensic lead: would each top finding survive as a reasonable basis to ask questions, or is it noise? Drop the noise and say why.
```

## What to fill in

- DATASET_FIELDS
- PERIOD_VOLUME
- CONTROLS_LIMITS
- INDICATORS
- FOCUS

Free to copy and use. From ThinkWithPrompt (https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/), a library of 2,663 curated AI prompts.