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Write flux commentary for every P&L and balance-sheet line over threshold — current vs prior period and vs budget, with the driver explained from underlying activity. Use for the month-end close package and management reporting.
Copy the install command and let the AI configure it · recommended for beginners
Please install the "variance-commentary" skill from askskill: 1. Download https://raw.githubusercontent.com/anthropics/financial-services/main/plugins/vertical-plugins/fund-admin/skills/variance-commentary/SKILL.md 2. Save it as ~/.claude/skills/variance-commentary/SKILL.md 3. Reload skills and tell me it's ready
Given current-period actuals, prior-period actuals, and budget for the same scope, produce a commentary table.
Flag a line for commentary if either is true:
| Column | Content |
|---|---|
| Line | Account or caption |
| Current / Prior / Budget | The three values |
| Δ vs prior and Δ vs budget | Amount and % |
| Driver | One sentence explaining the movement from underlying activity — not a restatement of the number |
A driver explains why, not what: "Cloud spend up $1.2M on incremental GPU reservations for the May launch" — not "Cloud spend increased $1.2M (18%)."
Look at the activity behind the line (journal-source breakdown, vendor mix, headcount delta, volume × rate) via the internal-gl MCP. If the driver isn't clear from the data, write "driver unclear — flag for controller" rather than inventing one.
The commentary table plus a short narrative (3–5 sentences) summarizing the period's biggest movers.
Build accretion/dilution analysis for M&A transactions. Models pro forma EPS impact, synergy sensitivities, and purchase price allocation. Use when evaluating a potential acquisition, preparing merger consequences analysis for a pitch, or advising on deal terms. Triggers on "merger model", "accretion dilution", "M&A model", "pro forma EPS", "merger consequences", or "deal impact analysis".
Create professional equity research earnings update reports (8-12 pages, 3,000-5,000 words) analyzing quarterly results for companies already under coverage. Fast-turnaround format focusing on beat/miss analysis, key metrics, updated estimates, and revised thesis. Includes 1-3 summary tables and 8-12 charts. Use when user requests "earnings update", "quarterly update", "earnings analysis", "Q1/Q2/Q3/Q4 results", or post-earnings report.
Build pre-earnings analysis with estimate models, scenario frameworks, and key metrics to watch. Use before a company reports quarterly earnings to prepare positioning notes, set up bull/bear scenarios, and identify what will move the stock. Triggers on "earnings preview", "what to watch for [company] earnings", "pre-earnings", "earnings setup", or "preview Q[X] for [company]".
Root-cause a reconciliation break to its source transaction or posting — follow the audit trail from the break row back to the originating entry on each side and state what differs and why. Use after gl-recon has classified a break.
Audit a spreadsheet for formula accuracy, errors, and common mistakes. Scopes to a selected range, a single sheet, or the entire model (including financial-model integrity checks like BS balance, cash tie-out, and logic sanity). Triggers on "audit this sheet", "check my formulas", "find formula errors", "QA this spreadsheet", "sanity check this", "debug model", "model check", "model won't balance", "something's off in my model", "model review".
Prepare for due diligence meetings — management presentations, expert network calls, customer references, and advisor sessions. Generates targeted question lists, benchmarks to reference, and red flags to probe. Use before any diligence meeting or call. Triggers on "prep for management meeting", "diligence call prep", "expert call questions", "customer reference questions", or "meeting prep for [company]".