{"id":"wri-fin-explain-accrual-to-manager","audience":"finance","category":"explaining","technique":"audience","title":"Explain an early expense to a manager with zero jargon","free":false,"task":"A marketing manager is confused why her event cost already hit October's budget when the invoice isn't paid until December. Explain it in under 80 words with no accounting terms (no 'accrual', 'accrue', 'GAAP', 'ledger', 'debit', 'credit', 'liability'). Use her own event and the signed amount as the example, and end with the one thing she needs to send you and by when. Write a prompt that gets that explanation.","materialLabel":"Her message and your notes (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"SLACK from Carla Mendes (Marketing Manager):\nWhy does my October budget show $18,000 for the Harvest Expo booth?? We haven't paid anything. The invoice isn't even due until December 15. Now my October looks over budget and my VP is asking questions. Is this an error?\n\nMY NOTES (Finance)\n- Not an error. The Harvest Expo happened Oct 18-19. We record costs in the month we get the service, not the month we pay. That's accrual accounting.\n- Original quote from the vendor (Brightline Exhibits) was $16,500. Signed final contract on Oct 3 was $18,000 (added lighting + carpet). We booked $18,000.\n- When the invoice is paid in December, it won't hit her December budget again.\n- Her October is over by $2,200 because of this. Her Q4 total is still on track.\n- To close October I need the signed vendor confirmation of the final amount from her by Nov 10.","rules":[{"type":"maxWords","max":80}],"mistakes":[{"title":"Trusting the AI to count words","why":"AI is bad at counting. Ask for \"under 80 words\" and it often lands well over.","fix":"Cap each part: \"4 sentences, each under 16 words.\"","checks":["maxWords"]},{"title":"Explaining with jargon","why":"AI explains this with \"accrual accounting\" and \"liabilities\", the exact words that confuse her.","fix":"Ban them: \"No accounting terms: no accrual, ledger, debit, credit or liability.\"","checks":["r0"]},{"title":"Going abstract","why":"The AI explains the general rule instead of her event and her number.","fix":"Add: \"Use her Harvest Expo: $18,000, event in October, paid in December.\"","checks":["r1"]},{"title":"No clear ask","why":"The AI ends with \"Let me know if you have questions\" instead of what she must do.","fix":"Add: \"End by asking for the signed vendor confirmation by Nov 10.\"","checks":["r2"]}],"promptHints":[{"label":"Sets a word limit","patterns":["\\d+\\s*words","word (limit|count)"]},{"label":"Bans jargon","patterns":["jargon","no accounting","accrual","plain (english|language|words)"]},{"label":"Uses her example","patterns":["harvest expo","18,?000","her event"]},{"label":"Ends with the ask","patterns":["nov(ember)?\\s*10","end (with|by)","confirmation"]},{"label":"Says who it's for","patterns":["marketing","manager","carla","non.?finance"]}],"hint":"The AI explains finance like a textbook. Ban the jargon, give it her real example, and tell it how to end.","rubricLabels":["Uses none of these words: accrual, accrue, accrued, GAAP, ledger, debit, credit, liability","Uses her Harvest Expo example: the $18,000 counts in October because that's when the event happened (Oct 18-19), even though it's paid in December, and it won't count again in December","The last sentence asks her to send the signed vendor confirmation of the final amount by Nov 10"]}