Library › Finance AI › FP&A and financial analysts
Split a revenue variance into volume and price effects
- 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 explaining a revenue miss for one product line. Write a prompt for plain text with lines starting "Volume effect:", "Price effect:" and "Total:", each with the math, and a last line "Check:" that says whether the two effects add up to the total variance. Volume effect uses budget price, and price effect uses actual units. State amounts only and don't explain causes. Under 75 words.
Common mistakes when you ask AI for this
- Mixing the bases. The AI uses actual price for volume, so the effects don't sum to the total. Try: Say: "Volume uses budget price; price uses actual units."
- Repeating unverified causes. The AI says the distributor delay explains the miss. Try: Add: "Amounts only. Do not state any cause."
- No check line. The AI never confirms the effects reconcile to the total variance. Try: Add: 'Last line "Check:" showing the addition.'
- 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 four lines
- Gives formulas
- Asks for signs
- Bans causes
- Caps length
Related exercises
- Accrue goods received but not invoiced at PO price (Finance AI · Accountants)
- Age open requisitions as of today and flag the old ones (Finance AI · FP&A and financial analysts)
- Age reconciling items and escalate those over 60 days (Finance AI · Accountants)
- Alert sales to a competitor's price change, facts only (Research & AI Search · Product managers)
- Allocate shared rent by headcount using the right roster (Finance AI · Accountants)