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Compare spend pace with time elapsed and project the year-end

  • For FP&A and financial analysts
  • You practice Catching mistakes and made-up facts
  • Time about 5 minutes
  • Level Beginner

About this exercise

You're checking one department's budget pacing after October. Write a prompt for plain text with lines starting "Time elapsed:", "Budget used:", "Ahead of pace by:", "Year-end run-rate:" and "Over budget by:", each with the math to one decimal. Run-rate is spend to date divided by months elapsed x 12. Don't mention the manager's expectation that Q4 will be quiet. Under 70 words. No bullets or numbering.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Accepting the Q4 claim. The AI says the department will come in at budget. Try: Add: "Do not mention the manager's Q4 expectation."
  • Wrong run-rate. The AI projects $240,000 or divides by 12. Try: Say: "Run-rate = spend to date / 10 x 12."
  • Missing the percent comparison. The AI reports dollars only. Try: Add: "Percents to one decimal; ahead of pace in points."
  • 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
  • Gives the run-rate formula
  • Asks for one decimal
  • Bans the expectation
  • Caps length

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