{"id":"fpa-ytd-and-quarter-growth-lines","audience":"fpa","category":"finance-work","track":"finance","technique":"verification","level":"beginner","title":"Compute YTD and quarter revenue growth versus last year","free":false,"task":"You're giving the CFO growth rates for the board deck. Write a prompt for plain text with lines starting \"YTD growth:\", \"Q3 growth:\" and \"Difference:\", each with the math to one decimal. Use recognized revenue only. The difference line is Q3 growth minus YTD growth in points. Don't mention ARR growth. Under 60 words. No bullets or numbering.","materialLabel":"Revenue by period, this year and last year (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"REVENUE GROWTH INPUTS - Pinecrest Software ($ millions)\n\nRecognized revenue:\nYTD FY26 (Jan-Sep): $9.3M. YTD FY25: $7.5M.\nQ3 FY26: $3.4M. Q3 FY25: $2.7M.\n\nOther metrics in the pack:\nARR growth year over year: 28% (this is a bookings-based measure, not recognized revenue).\n\nMethod: growth = (this year - last year) / last year. The board slide uses recognized revenue only.\n\nNotes: the CEO would like the slide to say 'revenue growth of 28%'. That figure is ARR growth and doesn't belong on a recognized-revenue line.","rules":[{"type":"plainText"},{"type":"maxWords","max":60},{"type":"maxBullets","max":0}],"promptHints":[{"label":"Names the three lines","patterns":["ytd growth","q3 growth","difference"]},{"label":"Gives the formula","patterns":["this year - last year","/ last year"]},{"label":"Uses recognized revenue","patterns":["recognized"]},{"label":"Bans ARR growth","patterns":["(do not|don'?t).*(arr|28%)"]},{"label":"Caps length","patterns":["\\d+\\s*words","plain"]}],"mistakes":[{"title":"Using ARR growth","why":"The AI reports 28% as revenue growth.","fix":"Add: \"Use recognized revenue; do not mention ARR growth or 28%.\"","checks":["r2"]},{"title":"Dividing by this year","why":"The AI divides the change by this year's revenue.","fix":"Say: \"Growth = (this year - last year) / last year.\"","checks":["r0","r1"]},{"title":"Difference in percent","why":"The AI gives the difference as a percent, not points.","fix":"Add: \"Difference in points.\"","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":"Growth is change over the prior period, on recognized revenue. State the formula and keep ARR out.","rubricLabels":["The line starting \"YTD growth:\" shows ($9.3M - $7.5M) / $7.5M = 24.0%","The line starting \"Q3 growth:\" shows ($3.4M - $2.7M) / $2.7M = 25.9%","The line starting \"Difference:\" shows 25.9 - 24.0 = 1.9 points, and the output never mentions ARR growth or 28%"]}