{"id":"fpa-cash-runway-email-ceo","audience":"fpa","category":"finance-work","track":"finance","level":"beginner","technique":"context","title":"Email the CEO a runway number that excludes a one-time prepayment","free":false,"task":"Your CEO, Mira, emailed: \"How many months of cash do we have?\" Reply with a short email whose first sentence gives the runway in months. Base burn on the last 3 months, but exclude the one-time customer prepayment from October. Show the math in one line, keep it under 90 words and plain text, and sign off exactly \"Jonah, FP&A\".","materialLabel":"Source material (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"TREASURY SNAPSHOT - Nov 3\n\nCash and equivalents, Oct 31: $6,000,000\n\nNet cash burn by month:\nAug: $520,000\nSep: $480,000\nOct: $100,000\n\nOct detail: receipts include $400,000 from Halden Corp, an upfront prepayment for 2027 services. Without it, October operating burn was $500,000.\n\nBoard deck (June): \"Runway: 18 months at current burn.\"\n\nOther:\n- Line of credit ($2M) is undrawn and not counted in cash.\n- Payroll runs on the 15th and 30th.\n- Q4 hiring plan adds 3 roles in December, not yet in burn.\n- Audit kickoff call is Nov 12.","rules":[{"type":"plainText"},{"type":"maxWords","max":90}],"mistakes":[{"title":"Averaging the raw months","why":"The AI averages Aug-Oct as given, and the one-time prepayment makes burn look far lower.","fix":"Add: \"Exclude the $400,000 Halden prepayment, so October burn is $500,000.\"","checks":["r1"]},{"title":"Burying the answer","why":"The AI opens with context and caveats, and Mira has to hunt for the number.","fix":"Say: \"First sentence: the runway in months.\"","checks":["r0"]},{"title":"Letting it pick a sign-off","why":"The AI ends with \"Best regards\" and an offer to walk through it.","fix":"Say: \"Sign off exactly: Jonah, FP&A. Nothing after it.\"","checks":["r2"]},{"title":"Forgetting where it goes","why":"AI adds bold and headings, which show up as ** and # clutter in email and chat.","fix":"Add: \"Plain text only, no bold, no headings.\"","checks":["plainText"]},{"title":"Trusting the AI to count words","why":"AI is bad at counting and usually runs long on finance write-ups.","fix":"Cap each part instead: \"each line under 15 words\" so the total stays well under 90.","checks":["maxWords"]}],"promptHints":[{"label":"Excludes the one-time item","patterns":["prepay","halden","one-time","400,?000"]},{"label":"Puts the answer first","patterns":["first sentence","lead with","start with","open with"]},{"label":"Shows the math","patterns":["math","÷","divid","calculation"]},{"label":"Gives the sign-off","patterns":["jonah","sign off","sign-off"]},{"label":"Sets a length limit","patterns":["\\d+\\s*words","word (limit|count)","under \\d+"]}],"hint":"Mira wants one number she can trust. Tell the AI which month needs adjusting and where the answer goes.","rubricLabels":["The first sentence states 12 months of runway (not 16 or 18 months)","Shows the math as $6,000,000 ÷ $500,000 average monthly burn = 12 months and says the $400,000 Halden prepayment was excluded","Ends with the sign-off \"Jonah, FP&A\" and has no subject line, greeting fluff or offer to discuss after it"]}