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Compute YTD and quarter revenue growth versus last year
- 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 giving the CFO growth rates for the board deck. Write a prompt for plain text with lines starting "YTD growth:", "Q3 growth:" and "Difference:", each with the math to one decimal. Use recognized revenue only. The difference line is Q3 growth minus YTD growth in points. Don't mention ARR growth. Under 60 words. No bullets or numbering.
Common mistakes when you ask AI for this
- Using ARR growth. The AI reports 28% as revenue growth. Try: Add: "Use recognized revenue; do not mention ARR growth or 28%."
- Dividing by this year. The AI divides the change by this year's revenue. Try: Say: "Growth = (this year - last year) / last year."
- Difference in percent. The AI gives the difference as a percent, not points. Try: Add: "Difference 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 three lines
- Gives the formula
- Uses recognized revenue
- Bans ARR growth
- Caps length
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