{"id":"fpa-it-variance-email-dept-head","audience":"fpa","category":"finance-work","track":"finance","level":"beginner","technique":"tone","title":"Email a department head about a variance without sounding accusatory","free":false,"task":"Email Sam, the IT department head, about September spend. Open with the total variance and its math, then explain how much of it is timing from the security audit, and end with exactly one question about the rest. Keep it friendly: don't use the words \"overspent\" or \"problem\". Plain text, under 80 words, no subject line.","materialLabel":"Source material (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"IT DEPARTMENT - SEPTEMBER\n\nBudget: $80,000\nActual: $95,000\n\nGL detail over $5,000:\n- Cloud hosting: $41,000 (budget $38,000)\n- Annual security audit (Vantor Partners): $12,000, accrued in September. This was budgeted in October.\n- Laptop leases: $18,000 (budget $18,000)\n- Software subscriptions: $24,000 (budget $24,000)\n\nSam's last email (Aug): \"We're watching cloud costs closely after the new analytics jobs went live.\"\n\nNote from AP: the Vantor invoice arrived early and the controller asked us to accrue it in September.\n\nReminder: Q4 reforecast inputs due Nov 15.","rules":[{"type":"plainText"},{"type":"maxWords","max":80}],"mistakes":[{"title":"Leading with blame","why":"The AI calls it an overspend and asks Sam to explain, which puts him on the defensive.","fix":"Say: \"Friendly tone. Don't use 'overspent' or 'problem'.\"","checks":["r2"]},{"title":"Missing the timing","why":"The AI reports $15,000 over without separating the audit that was budgeted a month later.","fix":"Add: \"$12,000 is the audit budgeted in October; show what's left.\"","checks":["r1"]},{"title":"Several questions","why":"The AI ends with a list of asks instead of the one thing you need from Sam.","fix":"Say: \"End with exactly one question about the cloud hosting increase.\"","checks":["r2"]},{"title":"Hiding the math","why":"The AI states a variance without the numbers Sam can check.","fix":"Ask: \"First sentence: $95,000 − $80,000 = $15,000 (19%).\"","checks":["r0"]},{"title":"Trusting the AI to count words","why":"AI is bad at counting and runs long, adding lists and formatting you didn't ask for.","fix":"Cap each part (\"each line under 15 words\") and state the format: \"plain text, no bold.\"","checks":["plainText","maxWords"]}],"promptHints":[{"label":"Sets a friendly tone","patterns":["friendly","warm","not accus","collaborat","overspent"]},{"label":"Separates timing","patterns":["timing","audit","october"]},{"label":"Ends with one question","patterns":["one question","single question","end with"]},{"label":"Shows the math","patterns":["math","[-−]","\\d+%"]},{"label":"Sets a length limit","patterns":["\\d+\\s*words","word (limit|count)","under \\d+"]}],"hint":"Sam will read this as a judgment unless you shape it. Tell the AI the tone, the timing piece and the one thing to ask.","rubricLabels":["The first sentence gives the total variance with the math: $95,000 − $80,000 = $15,000 over budget (19%)","Explains that $12,000 is timing (the security audit budgeted in October), leaving a $3,000 (4%) underlying difference","Ends with exactly one question, about the $3,000 cloud hosting increase, and never uses \"overspent\" or \"problem\""]}