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Compare an early-pay discount rate with the cost of borrowing
- For FP&A and financial analysts
- You practice Catching mistakes and made-up facts
- Time about 5 minutes
- Level Intermediate
About this exercise
You're checking whether an early-payment discount is worth more than the borrowing cost. Write a prompt for plain text with lines starting "Discount:", "Days accelerated:", "Annualized rate:", "Borrowing cost:" and "Comparison:". On terms 1/10 net 30, the annualized rate is the discount divided by the amount paid, times 360 over the days accelerated. Show the math to one decimal. The Comparison line states which is higher as a fact, with no recommendation. Under 90 words.
Common mistakes when you ask AI for this
- Dividing by the full invoice. The AI uses $100 / $10,000 and gets 18.0%. Try: Say: "Divide by the amount paid: invoice minus the discount."
- Missing labels. The AI writes a paragraph. Try: Add: "Five lines with these exact labels in order."
- Forgetting the annualizing step. The AI says the discount is 1%. Try: Add: "Multiply by 360 over the days accelerated."
- Giving advice. The AI tells the treasurer to take the discount. Try: Add: "State which is higher as a fact; no recommendation."
- 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 part short.
What a strong prompt includes
- Names the five lines
- Gives the formula
- Bans advice
- Asks for the math
- Caps length
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