Free Claude skills/Finance
Variance Commentary
Checks the numbers, then writes month end commentary on actuals against budget in plain language. A free Claude skill for finance.
A look inside
This is how the skill opens, exactly as Claude reads it. The download has the full instructions, and it is a plain text file you can edit to fit how your team works.
Turn a table of actuals against budget or prior period into commentary a finance lead can send to management after a quick check.
What you need
- The numbers: actual and the comparison (budget, forecast or prior period), by line.
- The period and the currency.
- The threshold for comment. If none is given, use lines that move more than 5 percent and more than 1 percent of revenue.
- Any context the user has: one off items, price changes, new hires, timing of invoices.
Step 1: check the numbers
Before writing a word:
- Recompute every variance in amount and percent. Use code if a file was uploaded.
- Check that the lines add up to the totals shown.
- Fix the sign convention and state it once: for example, "Favourable variances are shown as positive".
- List anything that looks like an error: a missing month, a doubled line, a sign that flipped.
Report problems first. Do not write commentary on numbers that do not add up.
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