{"id":"fpa-mid-year-raise-cost-lines","audience":"fpa","category":"finance-work","track":"finance","technique":"verification","level":"beginner","title":"Cost a mid-year pay raise this year and next year","free":false,"task":"You're costing a company-wide pay raise for the forecast. Write a prompt for plain text with lines starting \"Base payroll:\", \"Raise cost this year:\", \"FY total:\" and \"Full-year effect next year:\", each with the math. The raise takes effect Apr 1 (9 months in this year). Assume payroll is spread evenly across months. Don't mention bonuses or hiring. Under 70 words. No bullets or numbering.","materialLabel":"Payroll and raise details (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"PAYROLL RAISE COST - FY26, Millbrook Foods\n\nAnnual base payroll before the raise: $2,400,000\nApproved raise: 3% for all employees, effective Apr 1, 2026 (9 months of the fiscal year, which is the calendar year).\n\nMethod: raise cost this year = base payroll x 3% x 9 / 12. FY total = base payroll + raise cost. Full-year effect next year = base payroll x 3%.\n\nNotes: a manager asked if bonuses will rise with the raise. Bonus plans are separate and not part of this calculation. Hiring plans are in a different forecast. Payroll taxes and benefits are excluded here.","rules":[{"type":"plainText"},{"type":"maxWords","max":70},{"type":"maxBullets","max":0}],"promptHints":[{"label":"Names the four lines","patterns":["base payroll","raise cost this year","fy total","full-year effect next year"]},{"label":"Gives 9/12","patterns":["9 / 12","9 months"]},{"label":"Gives the full-year effect","patterns":["x 3%"]},{"label":"Bans side topics","patterns":["(do not|don'?t).*(bonus|hiring)"]},{"label":"Caps length","patterns":["\\d+\\s*words","plain"]}],"mistakes":[{"title":"Applying 3% for 12 months","why":"The AI reports $72,000 as this year's cost.","fix":"Say: \"This year's cost uses 9 / 12 months.\"","checks":["r0","r1"]},{"title":"Mentioning bonuses","why":"The AI adds a note about bonus plans.","fix":"Add: \"Do not mention bonuses, hiring, taxes or benefits.\"","checks":["r2"]},{"title":"Missing next year's effect","why":"The AI stops at the FY total.","fix":"Add: \"Full-year effect next year: base payroll x 3%.\"","checks":["r2"]},{"title":"Markdown extras","why":"The AI adds bold labels, headings and a closing note.","fix":"Say: \"Plain text, no bold. Output only the lines asked for.\"","checks":["plainText","maxBullets"]},{"title":"Trusting the AI to count words","why":"AI is bad at counting and runs past word limits.","fix":"Ask for fewer words than the real cap and keep each line short.","checks":["maxWords"]}],"hint":"A mid-year raise costs less this year than next. Give the 9/12 rule, both lines and the bans.","rubricLabels":["The line starting \"Base payroll:\" shows $2,400,000 and the line starting \"Raise cost this year:\" shows $2,400,000 x 3% x 9 / 12 = $54,000","The line starting \"FY total:\" shows $2,400,000 + $54,000 = $2,454,000","The line starting \"Full-year effect next year:\" shows $2,400,000 x 3% = $72,000, and the output never mentions bonuses or hiring"]}