AI Prompts for Finance: Templates for Analysis, Reporting, and Risk Assessment

You are a senior financial analyst preparing a ratio analysis.

COMPANY/ENTITY: [COMPANY NAME]
PERIOD: [TIME PERIOD — e.g., FY2025, Q4 2025]
INDUSTRY: [INDUSTRY SECTOR]

Financial data:
- Revenue: [AMOUNT] | Net Income: [AMOUNT]
- Total Assets: [AMOUNT] | Total Liabilities: [AMOUNT]
- Total Equity: [AMOUNT] | Current Assets: [AMOUNT]
- Current Liabilities: [AMOUNT] | Operating Cash Flow: [AMOUNT]
- Interest Expense: [AMOUNT] | EBITDA: [AMOUNT]

Organize into four categories:
1. PROFITABILITY — gross margin, operating margin, net margin, ROE, ROA
2. LIQUIDITY — current ratio, quick ratio, cash ratio
3. LEVERAGE — debt-to-equity, debt-to-assets, interest coverage
4. EFFICIENCY — asset turnover, receivables turnover

For each ratio: show the formula, state the result, and provide a one-sentence interpretation.

End with a 3-4 sentence summary of the overall financial health picture.

Format as a structured report. Do not make investment recommendations.

You are an FP&A analyst identifying trends across multiple reporting periods for a non-technical executive audience.

I will provide [NUMBER] periods of data for [COMPANY/DIVISION]:

[PASTE MULTI-PERIOD DATA — quarterly revenue, margins, headcount, customer metrics]

Identify:
1. THREE significant trends (changes >[ X]% period-over-period or consistent direction across 3+ periods)
2. ONE anomaly that breaks the expected pattern
3. TWO metrics that appear correlated

For each finding: state the trend, quantify it with specific numbers, suggest one hypothesis for the driver, and flag what data would confirm or refute it.

Label hypotheses clearly as hypotheses, not conclusions.

You are a financial analyst preparing a peer comparison for [PURPOSE — e.g., board presentation, strategic planning].

SUBJECT COMPANY: [YOUR COMPANY]
PEER GROUP: [LIST 3-5 PEER COMPANIES]
METRICS: [LIST — e.g., revenue growth, EBITDA margin, customer acquisition cost]
TIME PERIOD: [PERIOD]

[PASTE COMPARISON DATA]

Structure as:
1. Comparison table — companies as columns, metrics as rows
2. Key takeaways — 3-4 bullets on where [YOUR COMPANY] leads, lags, or differs from peer median
3. Context section — 1-2 factors making direct comparison imperfect (different models, stages, geographies)

Do not rank companies as "better" or "worse." Present data objectively.

You are a revenue analyst breaking down revenue changes between two periods.

COMPANY/DIVISION: [NAME]
PERIOD 1: [PRIOR PERIOD] — Revenue: [AMOUNT]
PERIOD 2: [CURRENT PERIOD] — Revenue: [AMOUNT]

Additional data:
- Revenue by segment: [DATA]
- Pricing changes: [DATA]
- Volume/unit changes: [DATA]
- New vs. existing customer revenue: [DATA]
- Currency impacts: [DATA]

Decompose into: volume effect, price effect, mix effect, new vs. existing customer contribution, and currency impact.

Present as a revenue bridge narrative walking from Period 1 to Period 2. Include a text-based waterfall showing each component's contribution.

Flag areas where data is insufficient to isolate a driver.

You are a finance director writing the narrative for a QBR ([QUARTER, YEAR]).

AUDIENCE: [executive team / board / department heads]

I will provide key metrics vs. budget and prior year, operational highlights, and initiative status:

[PASTE YOUR DATA]

Write a QBR including:
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (3-4 sentences) — lead with the headline
2. FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE — variance explanations for items deviating >[X]% from budget
3. OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS — 3-5 accomplishments with business impact
4. CHALLENGES — honest assessment, no blame language
5. OUTLOOK — framed as "if current trends continue," not predictions

Length: [WORD COUNT]. Tone: confident but honest. Use specific numbers, not "significant growth."

Do not invent numbers. Use only the data I provide. Flag gaps as "[DATA NEEDED]."

You are a CFO drafting a quarterly investor update for [COMPANY NAME].

AUDIENCE: [e.g., seed investors, Series A board]
STAGE: [e.g., Series A SaaS, growth-stage marketplace]

Metrics: [LIST KEY METRICS WITH CURRENT AND PRIOR VALUES]
Highlights: [2-3 BULLETS]
Challenges: [1-2 BULLETS]
Asks from investors: [REQUESTS]
Runway: [MONTHS OR CASH POSITION]

Structure:
1. Subject line conveying the headline
2. Opening (2 sentences)
3. Metrics table
4. What went well (2-3 paragraphs)
5. What we're working through (honest, with plan)
6. What we need (specific, actionable)
7. Priorities for next period

Under [WORD COUNT] words. Transparent, concise, no hype.

You are an FP&A manager writing a variance memo for [MONTH/QUARTER, YEAR].

[PASTE LINE ITEMS WITH ACTUAL VS. BUDGET AND VARIANCES]

For each item exceeding [THRESHOLD — e.g., 5%, $10,000]:
1. State variance (favorable/unfavorable, $, %)
2. Root cause category: Timing / Volume / Rate / One-time / Forecast miss
3. Whether the variance will persist, reverse, or grow
4. Action: none needed / monitor / reforecast / escalate

Format as table: Line Item | Variance ($) | Variance (%) | Category | Explanation | Outlook.

End with 2-3 sentences on overall budget position and top items needing attention.

You are a finance executive preparing speaker notes for financial slides in a board deck.

CONTEXT: [COMPANY NAME], [QUARTER/YEAR] board meeting
AUDIENCE: Board of directors (assume they reviewed slides in advance)

For each slide, I'll provide key data:

[SLIDE 1: TITLE AND KEY DATA POINTS]
[SLIDE 2: TITLE AND KEY DATA POINTS]
[SLIDE 3: TITLE AND KEY DATA POINTS]

For each slide write:
1. Opening statement — the headline message (one sentence)
2. Supporting narrative (2-3 sentences with specific numbers)
3. Anticipated board question and prepared response
4. Transition to the next slide

Keep each slide under 100 words. Lead with conclusions, not methodology.

You are a financial planning analyst building scenario models for [BUSINESS DECISION].

BASE CASE ASSUMPTIONS:
- Revenue growth: [X]% | Gross margin: [X]%
- Operating expenses: $[AMOUNT] or [X]% of revenue
- [OTHER ASSUMPTIONS]

Create three scenarios:
1. BASE CASE — current trajectory
2. UPSIDE — 2-3 specific drivers that could outperform
3. DOWNSIDE — 2-3 specific risks that could underperform

For each: state assumption changes, project impact on revenue/margin/operating income, use probabilities I provide (base [X]%, upside [X]%, downside [X]%), and identify leading indicators.

Format for easy comparison. End with a "decision implications" paragraph.

If I don't provide probabilities, leave as [TO BE DETERMINED].

You are a financial modeler preparing a sensitivity analysis for [DECISION/METRIC].

TARGET METRIC: [WHAT WE'RE SOLVING FOR]
BASE CASE VALUE: [AMOUNT]

VARIABLES:
1. [VARIABLE 1]: Base [X]%, Range [LOW]% to [HIGH]%
2. [VARIABLE 2]: Base $[X], Range $[LOW] to $[HIGH]
3. [VARIABLE 3]: Base [X]%, Range [LOW]% to [HIGH]%

Create:
1. One-variable sensitivity table for each variable (5-7 values, others held constant)
2. Two-variable matrix for the two most impactful variables
3. Key findings: which variable has largest impact, at what threshold the metric turns negative, and highest-risk combinations

All calculations must be verified in a proper financial model.

You are a risk analyst drafting a stress test for [COMPANY/PORTFOLIO].

SCENARIO: [e.g., 30% revenue decline over 6 months, 200bps rate increase]

CURRENT POSITION:
- Cash: $[AMOUNT] | Monthly burn: $[AMOUNT]
- Debt: $[AMOUNT] with [TERMS]
- Revenue concentration: [TOP CLIENT %]
- Credit facilities: $[AMOUNT]

Analyze:
1. CASH RUNWAY at stressed revenue levels
2. COVENANT RISK for covenants I provide
3. EXPENSE LEVERS — fully discretionary / partially discretionary / fixed
4. RESPONSE PLAYBOOK — actions sequenced by Week 1, Month 1, Quarter 1
5. RECOVERY INDICATORS

Format as internal memo. All projections are illustrative and must be validated against actual models.