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Turn a department budget request into a review checklist

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

About this exercise

Review Marketing's FY27 budget request against planning guidance: total growth over 10% needs a revenue tie-in, any line up more than 20% needs ROI evidence, and every new hire must be in the approved headcount plan. Start with the line "Review: Marketing FY27, $1.85M (+23% vs $1.5M)", then a checklist of at most 5 items, each starting "- [ ]" and phrased as a question for the marketing lead. Plain text, under 120 words.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Approving instead of reviewing. The AI summarizes the request favorably instead of checking it against rules it was never told. Try: Give the rules: "over 10% total needs revenue tie-in; any line over 20% needs ROI; hires must be in the headcount plan."
  • Missing the cross-check. The AI accepts the 30% pipeline claim without comparing it to the 15% corporate target attached. Try: Ask: "Compare each justification to the attached corporate plan."
  • No fixed first line. The AI opens with a title or intro instead of the header line reviewers sort by. Try: Give it: "Start with: Review: Marketing FY27, $1.85M (+23% vs $1.5M)"
  • Statements instead of questions. The AI writes findings, not questions the requester can answer. Try: Say: "Each item starts '- [ ]' and is a question for the marketing lead."
  • Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting and runs long, adding lists and formatting you didn't ask for. Try: Cap each part ("each line under 15 words") and state the format: "plain text, no bold."

What a strong prompt includes

  • States the review rules
  • Asks for checklist boxes
  • Phrases items as questions
  • Gives the first line
  • Sets a length limit

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