10 AI Prompts Every Finance Professional Should Have Saved

Good prompts are reusable. The best ones become part of how you work — pulled up, adapted slightly, and deployed whenever you need them. Here are ten worth having in your collection.

Each prompt below is written as a template. The bits in brackets are where you fill in your specific context. Use these in Claude, ChatGPT, or whichever tool you prefer — they work across all of them.

1. Management commentary draft

Write management commentary for [month/quarter] finance results. 
Audience: [CFO / IT Director / Board]. Tone: factual and direct.

Key variances:
- [Cost category]: [£X] [over/under] budget. Driver: [reason]
- [Cost category]: [£X] [over/under] budget. Driver: [reason]

Overall position: [£X] [over/under] budget ([%]).
Full year forecast: [on track / revised to £X].

Write 3 paragraphs: overall position, key movements, outlook.

Adjust the structure to match your reporting format. The more specific you are about the drivers, the more useful the output.

2. Excel formula builder

Write an Excel formula that does the following:
[Describe exactly what you need in plain English]

My data structure:
- Column A: [description]
- Column B: [description]
- The lookup table is on a sheet called "[sheet name]"
- Return [value] if no match is found

Use XLOOKUP if possible. Explain how the formula works in one sentence.

3. VBA macro builder

Write a VBA macro for Excel that does the following:
[Describe the steps in plain English]

Context:
- The workbook has sheets named: [list them]
- Data starts at row [X], headers are in row [Y]
- The output should go to [sheet/range]
- Skip any sheet named [X]

Add comments to explain each section. Make it easy to modify.

4. Variance analysis explainer

I'm a Finance Business Partner presenting results to [stakeholder].
Here is my variance data:

[Paste your variance table or key figures]

Help me:
1. Identify the 3 most significant variances worth highlighting
2. Suggest the likely questions [stakeholder] will ask
3. Draft a one-paragraph narrative for each key movement

5. Meeting prep — anticipate the questions

I'm presenting [topic] to [stakeholder/audience] on [date].
Key facts they need to know:
- [Fact 1]
- [Fact 2]
- [Potential concern or challenge]

Generate a list of 8-10 questions they're likely to ask, 
in order of most to least likely. For each one, suggest 
a one or two sentence answer I should have ready.

6. Email drafting — sensitive message

Draft a professional email with the following context:

To: [role/name]
Subject: [topic]
Situation: [brief description — what happened, what I need to say]
Tone: [direct but respectful / firm / diplomatic]
Key points to include:
- [Point 1]
- [Point 2]
Outcome I want: [what I want them to do or agree to]

Keep it under 200 words. No waffle.

7. Summarise a long document

Summarise the following document for a [Finance Director / CFO / non-finance audience].

Focus on:
- Key financial implications
- Any risks or commitments
- Decisions required
- Timeline or deadlines

Keep the summary to under 300 words. Use bullet points for the key findings.

[Paste document text]

8. Process documentation

Write a clear process document for the following procedure:
[Describe the process in rough terms]

Format it as:
- Process name and purpose (2 sentences)
- Who's responsible for each step
- Step-by-step instructions (numbered)
- Common errors or things to watch out for
- When this process runs (frequency/trigger)

Write it so someone new to the team could follow it independently.

9. Budget challenge preparation

I'm going into a budget challenge meeting for [department/cost area].
My proposed budget: [£X]
Key assumptions:
- [Assumption 1]
- [Assumption 2]

The person challenging me is [CFO / Finance Director / budget holder].
They typically push on [cost increases / headcount / project spend].

Help me:
1. Identify the three weakest points in my assumptions
2. Prepare a defence for each one
3. Suggest one or two areas where I could credibly offer to reduce budget if pressed

10. Explain a complex concept simply

Explain [financial concept / accounting treatment / technical topic] 
to someone who [is not a finance professional / is a new grad / is a senior executive 
who doesn't want the detail].

Use an analogy if it helps. Keep it under 150 words. 
Avoid jargon — if you need to use a technical term, define it immediately.

That last one appears in the CFAIO toolkit more than any other. Being able to explain something clearly is a core skill for any Finance Business Partner. AI gives you a fast way to check whether your own explanation makes sense, or to draft one when you’re short on time.