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Estimate a bonus pool from adjusted operating income

  • For FP&A and financial analysts
  • You practice Setting limits and rules
  • Time about 5 minutes
  • Level Intermediate

About this exercise

You're preparing a bonus pool estimate for the compensation committee. Write a prompt for plain text with lines starting "Adjusted operating income:", "Above plan:", "Pool before cap:", "Pool after cap:" and "Status:", each with the math where it applies. The Status line is exactly "Estimate for committee approval, not final". Under 70 words. No bullets or numbering.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Using unadjusted income. The AI uses $1,150,000 and gets a $15,000 pool, capped at $12,000. Try: Add: "Remove the one-time gain first."
  • Skipping the cap step. The AI forgets the cap line. Try: Say: "Pool after cap = the smaller of the pool and $12,000."
  • Missing status line. The AI calls the result final. Try: Quote the Status line exactly.
  • Markdown extras. The AI adds bold labels, headings and a closing note. Try: Say: "Plain text, no bold. Output only the lines asked for."
  • Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting and runs past word limits. Try: Ask for fewer words than the real cap and keep each line short.

What a strong prompt includes

  • Names the five lines
  • Removes the one-time gain
  • Gives the cap rule
  • Quotes the status line
  • Caps length

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