{"id":"fpa-opex-per-head-ranking-table","audience":"fpa","category":"finance-work","track":"finance","technique":"format","level":"beginner","title":"Rank departments by cost per head with corrected headcount","free":false,"task":"You're comparing departments for the CFO. Write a prompt for a markdown table with columns Rank, Department, Opex, Heads and Per head, ranked highest cost per head first, with Per head shown as a whole-dollar amount. Use the corrected Engineering headcount. After the table add one line starting \"Spread:\" showing the highest minus the lowest per-head amount. No recommendations. Under 100 words.","materialLabel":"Source material (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"Q3 2026 OPERATING EXPENSES BY DEPARTMENT (full quarter, annualized figures not used)\n\nSales: $1,320,000, 40 heads\nEngineering: $2,450,000, 60 heads on the old roster\nSupport: $600,000, 30 heads\nG&A: $900,000, 15 heads\nMarketing: $540,000, 18 heads\n\nCorrection from HR, Oct 31: Engineering had 70 people at quarter end. Ten contractors who were converted to employees on Sep 1 were missing from the old roster. The 60 should be 70.\n\nDefinitions: Opex is the department's total operating expense for the quarter. Per head is opex divided by heads at quarter end.\n\nThe CFO will use the ranking in the Nov 10 leadership meeting to ask each leader about their spending, so the table should only state facts.","rules":[{"type":"maxWords","max":100}],"promptHints":[{"label":"Names the columns","patterns":["rank","department","opex","heads","per head"]},{"label":"Uses the correction","patterns":["70","correct"]},{"label":"Sets the ranking order","patterns":["highest","first"]},{"label":"Adds the spread line","patterns":["spread","highest minus"]},{"label":"Caps length","patterns":["\\d+\\s*words","under \\d+"]}],"mistakes":[{"title":"Using the old roster","why":"The AI divides by 60 and gets $40,833 for Engineering.","fix":"Say: \"Use HR's corrected Engineering headcount of 70.\"","checks":["r0","r1"]},{"title":"Ranking lowest first","why":"The AI sorts ascending or by total spend.","fix":"Add: \"Rank highest cost per head first.\"","checks":["r0"]},{"title":"Adding advice","why":"The AI recommends trimming G&A.","fix":"Add: \"State facts only; no recommendations.\"","checks":["r2"]},{"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 part short.","checks":["maxWords"]}],"hint":"A ranking is only right if the inputs are. Tell the AI which headcount to use and how to sort.","rubricLabels":["The table header is Rank, Department, Opex, Heads, Per head and the rows are ranked G&A $60,000, Engineering $35,000, Sales $33,000, Marketing $30,000, Support $20,000 in that order, with Per head written as whole dollars with a $ sign","Engineering shows 70 heads (the corrected figure) and $35,000 per head, not $40,833","The last line starts \"Spread:\" and shows $60,000 - $20,000 = $40,000, and nothing recommends cuts or actions"]}