Finance & Accounting Prompts to Save Time On Repetitive Tasks

You are an accounting analyst. Draft a 6-8 sentence variance explanation for the month. Format as narrative paragraph. Input data: [Paste your KPI table or variance summary here] Instructions: - Summarize the largest variances (vs. budget or prior year) - Identify drivers (volume, pricing, cost, mix) - Note any one-time items that distort comparison - Use cautious language ("may indicate", "appears driven by") - Do NOT invent data or numbers - Conclude with 3 follow-up questions for business owner Format: One paragraph, clear, CFO-ready.

You are an accounting controller. Triage these reconciliation exceptions into categories. Exception list: [Paste reconciliation exceptions here - use IDs, not customer names] Categorize each as: 1) Timing difference (expected to clear next period) 2) Missing documentation (need to retrieve supporting doc) 3) Transposition error (data entry mistake) 4) Potential fraud flag (investigate immediately) For EACH exception, recommend: - Next action (follow-up with whom) - Owner / investigator - Evidence needed Format clearly. Prioritize fraud flags at top.

You are a finance process analyst. Analyze our close process for automation opportunities. Current process: [Describe current close steps: who does what, timeline, pain points] Example format: - Step 1: GL cutoff (2 days, manual, error-prone) - Step 2: Reconcile balance sheet accounts (5 days, spreadsheet-based) - Step 3: Variance explanations (3 days, drafted in Word) - Step 4: Review & approval (1 day, email handoff) For EACH step, recommend: - Automation opportunity (AI, RPA, tool) - Estimated time saved - Implementation complexity (low/med/high) - Required controls Prioritize highest impact + lowest complexity.

You are a senior accountant. Review this list of recurring expenses and flag any missing accruals for month-end. Expense list: [Paste your recurring vendor list, contracts, or prior month accrual schedule] For each item, check: - Was an invoice received this period? (yes/no/unknown) - If no invoice: estimate accrual amount based on prior months or contract terms - Flag any amounts that changed >15% from prior month - Note any new vendors or contracts not yet in the accrual schedule Output: Table with columns: Vendor | Category | Prior Month | This Month Estimate | Variance | Action Needed Tone: Precise. Flag uncertainties clearly.

You are an internal auditor. Review these manual journal entries for potential issues. Journal entries: [Paste JE data: date, preparer, account, debit, credit, description] Check for: 1) Round-number entries (e.g., exactly $10,000 or $50,000) 2) Entries posted near period-end or after close date 3) Unusual account combinations (e.g., revenue + expense in same entry) 4) Entries with vague descriptions ("adjustment", "correction", "misc") 5) Entries by users who don't normally post to these accounts 6) Debit/credit imbalances For each flagged entry, explain WHY it's flagged and suggest follow-up. Format: Risk-ranked list. Highest risk first.

You are a financial analyst. Prepare a balance sheet flux analysis comparing this month to prior month and prior year. Balance sheet data: [Paste: account name, current month balance, prior month balance, prior year balance] For each account with movement >10% or >$50K: - Calculate $ change and % change (month-over-month and year-over-year) - Provide a likely explanation based on account type and business context - Flag any movements that seem unusual or warrant investigation - Suggest supporting documentation to request Format: Table with narrative explanations. Group by: Current Assets, Non-Current Assets, Liabilities, Equity.

You are an intercompany accountant. Reconcile these intercompany balances and identify discrepancies. Intercompany data: [Paste: Entity A balance, Entity B balance, transaction type, period] For each intercompany pair: - Compare reciprocal balances (Entity A's receivable from B vs. B's payable to A) - Identify net difference - Categorize discrepancy: timing (in-transit), FX translation, posting error, or missing entry - Recommend resolution (which entity needs to book an entry?) Also flag: - Any pair with difference >$5K or >5% - Balances that have been unresolved for 2+ months - One-sided entries (exists in one entity but not the other) Format: Reconciliation table with action items column.

You are a staff accountant. Review this prepaid expense and deferred revenue schedule for month-end. Schedule data: [Paste: description, original amount, start date, end date, monthly amortization, remaining balance] Check for: 1) Amortization accuracy (does monthly amount x remaining months = remaining balance?) 2) Expired items (end date has passed but balance remains) 3) New items added this month (proper setup and amortization start date) 4) Unusual balances (negative amounts, amounts that don't change month to month) 5) Missing items (known contracts or insurance policies not on the schedule) 6) Proper classification (short-term vs. long-term split for balance sheet) Produce: - Summary of total prepaid/deferred balances by category - List of exceptions found - Recommended journal entries to correct any issues Format: Exception report with recommended actions.

You are a fixed asset accountant. Prepare a fixed asset roll-forward for the period. Asset data: [Paste: asset description, category, acquisition date, cost, accumulated depreciation, net book value, useful life, method] Produce: 1) Opening balance reconciliation (beginning NBV by category) 2) Additions this period (new assets placed in service) 3) Disposals / retirements (assets removed, gain/loss calculation) 4) Depreciation expense (current period, by category) 5) Ending balance (closing NBV by category) 6) Reconciliation check (opening + additions - disposals - depreciation = ending) Also flag: - Fully depreciated assets still in service (confirm they still exist) - Assets with unusual useful life assumptions - Any assets with $0 salvage value and high original cost - Impairment indicators (significant decline in use or market value) Format: Roll-forward table with narrative notes.

You are a revenue accountant. Review these contracts and confirm proper revenue recognition treatment under ASC 606. Contract data: [Paste: customer, contract value, deliverables, payment terms, start/end dates] For each contract, walk through the 5-step model: 1) Identify the contract (is there an enforceable agreement?) 2) Identify performance obligations (distinct goods/services) 3) Determine transaction price (fixed, variable, discounts, financing) 4) Allocate price to obligations (standalone selling prices) 5) Recognize revenue (point in time vs. over time, and why) Flag: - Multiple deliverables that need allocation - Variable consideration requiring constraint analysis - Extended payment terms that might contain a financing component - Contract modifications vs. new contracts - Bill-and-hold arrangements Format: Contract-by-contract analysis. Include recommended journal entries.

You are a cash accountant. Prepare a bank reconciliation for this account. Bank statement data: [Paste: date, description, amount, running balance — from bank statement] GL cash account data: [Paste: date, description, amount, running balance — from general ledger] Reconcile: 1) Match transactions between bank and GL (by amount and approximate date) 2) Identify outstanding checks (in GL but not yet cleared at bank) 3) Identify deposits in transit (in GL but not yet on bank statement) 4) Flag bank charges/fees not yet recorded in GL 5) Flag interest income not yet recorded in GL 6) Identify unmatched items on both sides Produce: - Bank reconciliation (bank balance + deposits in transit - outstanding checks = GL balance) - List of reconciling items with recommended journal entries - Aged outstanding items (anything >30 days = investigate) Format: Standard bank reconciliation format.

You are a Controller. Draft a close status update email for the finance team and leadership. Close data: [Paste: close checklist with completion status, key metrics, open items] Current close day: [Day X of Y] Include: 1) Overall status (on track / at risk / behind — and why) 2) Completed milestones (what's done) 3) In-progress items (who owns them, expected completion) 4) Blockers (what's holding things up, who needs to act) 5) Key financial highlights (preliminary revenue, expenses, net income vs. prior month) 6) Open action items with owners and deadlines 7) Next 24-hour priorities Tone: Concise, factual, no fluff. CFO should be able to scan this in 60 seconds. Format: Short email — max 15 lines. Use bold for key numbers and action items.

You are a senior accountant. Prepare the monthly lease accounting entries under ASC 842. Lease data: [Paste: lease description, commencement date, term, monthly payment, discount rate, classification (operating/finance)] For each lease, calculate and prepare: 1) Monthly amortization of right-of-use (ROU) asset 2) Monthly interest on lease liability (finance leases) 3) Monthly straight-line lease expense (operating leases) 4) Lease liability balance roll-forward (beginning + interest - payment = ending) 5) ROU asset balance roll-forward (beginning - amortization = ending) 6) Short-term lease expense (leases under 12 months, if elected) Also check: - Any leases with modifications this month (remeasurement needed?) - Any leases expiring within 90 days (renewal decision needed?) - Variable lease payments to record (CAM, property tax, percentage rent) - Lease liability maturity schedule (short-term vs. long-term split for balance sheet) Format: Journal entry detail + roll-forward schedules + balance sheet classification.

You are a contracts reviewer. Summarize key financial terms from this [vendor type] contract. Contract excerpt: [Paste relevant sections of contract here - focus on pricing, payment, term, termination] Identify & extract: - Payment terms (net 30, net 60, etc.) - Pricing structure (fixed, variable, tiered) - Volume commitments or minimums - Price escalation clause (if any, what % per year?) - Termination clause (notice period, penalties) - Auto-renewal (yes/no, notice required?) - Key risks for accounting (contingent liabilities, warranties) Format: Structured table or list. Flag anything unusual or unfavorable.

You are an AP auditor. Review this payment data for potential duplicate payments. Payment data: [Paste: vendor name, invoice #, amount, date paid, PO #] Check for: 1) Same invoice number paid twice (exact match) 2) Same amount to same vendor within 30 days (possible duplicate) 3) Similar invoice numbers (transposition: INV-1023 vs INV-1032) 4) Same amount, different vendor names that look similar (DBA variations) 5) Round-number payments without matching invoices For each potential duplicate: - Confidence level (high/medium/low) - Evidence supporting the flag - Recommended action (investigate, recover, or dismiss) Format: Ranked by $ amount. Highest recovery opportunity first.

You are an AP manager. Write commentary for this AP aging report for the monthly finance review. AP aging data: [Paste: vendor, total outstanding, current, 1-30, 31-60, 61-90, 90+ buckets] Write commentary covering: - Total AP outstanding and trend vs. prior month - Concentration risk (any single vendor >20% of total?) - Aged items explanation (why are items in 60+ day buckets?) - Cash flow implications (upcoming large payments in next 30 days) - Action items (disputes to resolve, approvals needed, payments to prioritize) Format: 3-4 paragraphs. Controller-ready. Flag anything that needs CFO attention separately.

You are an AP clerk with GL coding expertise. Suggest the proper GL account coding for these invoices. Invoice data: [Paste: vendor name, invoice description, amount, department] Chart of accounts reference: [Paste your relevant GL account list with account numbers and descriptions] For each invoice: - Suggest primary GL account (number and name) - Suggest cost center / department - Note if the invoice should be split across multiple accounts - Flag if the item might be a capital expense (>$X threshold) rather than operating expense - Flag any that might need prepaid treatment (service period spans multiple months) Format: Table with columns: Invoice | Suggested Account | Cost Center | Notes | Confidence Level

You are a data quality analyst. Review this vendor master file and identify cleanup opportunities. Vendor master data: [Paste: vendor ID, vendor name, address, tax ID, payment method, status, last activity date] Check for: 1) Duplicate vendors (same company, different names — Inc vs LLC, abbreviations) 2) Inactive vendors (no activity in 12+ months — candidate for deactivation) 3) Missing tax IDs (1099 compliance risk) 4) Missing or incomplete addresses 5) Vendors with PO Box only (potential fraud risk for service vendors) 6) Inconsistent naming conventions 7) Vendors with same bank account as another vendor or an employee Produce: - Cleanup action list: merge candidates, deactivation candidates, data completion needs - Risk flags: fraud indicators, compliance gaps - Recommended naming convention for standardization Format: Priority-ranked table. Highest risk items first.