Write balance sheet flux explanations for month-end review
Turns period-over-period balance sheet movements into concise, evidence-based explanations a reviewer can sign off on.
The prompt
Help me write balance sheet flux explanations for month-end review.
Balance sheet, current vs. prior month (and prior year-end): [PASTE account, balances]
Review thresholds: [e.g. "explain changes over $25,000 or 10%"]
Known activity this month: [e.g. "drew $500k on the credit line", "bought a forklift", "annual software prepaid", "big customer paid late"]
Supporting detail I have: [subledger totals, reconciliations, rollforwards]
Steps:
1. Calculate the change in dollars and percent for each account; mark which exceed the threshold.
2. For each one over threshold, write an explanation that names the driver and quantifies it ("+$62k: annual insurance prepaid $72k, less $10k amortization"), not "timing" or "normal activity".
3. Check that related accounts move consistently (e.g. AR up but revenue flat; prepaid up with no cash outflow; accrued liabilities down with no payment).
4. Flag accounts where the movement doesn't fit the known activity, or where the balance has an unusual sign.
Return:
1. A table: Account | Prior | Current | Change $ | Change % | Over threshold? | Explanation | Support reference.
2. A list of accounts where I need more information, marked [NEED DETAIL].
3. Possible errors or misclassifications to investigate before close.
Only use drivers I gave you. Where the reason isn't known, say so - never fill in a plausible-sounding cause.
Highlighted [brackets] are blanks to replace with your own details.
Fill in the blanks and use this promptMore Finance & Accounting prompts
What to fill in
- PASTE account, balances
- e.g. "explain changes over $25,000 or 10%"
- subledger totals, reconciliations, rollforwards
- NEED DETAIL
How this prompt is built
This prompt follows the Few-Shot structure (Few-shot prompting). A few-shot prompt includes one or more worked examples of the input and the output you want, so the model can copy the pattern instead of guessing it.
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