Before You Start

This guide assumes you have access to financial statements (P&L, Balance Sheet) and a ChatGPT account. Basic understanding of financial reporting is also beneficial.

Overview

30 min
Estimated Time
Intermediate
Difficulty
Monthly
Reporting Cycle

What You’ll Learn

  • How to structure prompts for effective financial analysis
  • Generating insightful commentary for management reports
  • Identifying key trends and variances with AI
  • Best practices for integrating AI into your reporting workflow

1. Preparation Steps

Before leveraging ChatGPT, ensure you have your data and objectives clear:

Required Inputs

  • Clean, formatted financial statements (CSV/PDF)
  • Clear reporting objectives (e.g., summarize monthly performance)
  • Key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor

Optional (but recommended)

  • Historical financial data for trend analysis
  • Industry benchmarks for comparative analysis
  • Customized report templates

2. Choosing Your AI Model

While this guide focuses on ChatGPT, other models exist.

Model A: ChatGPT (GPT-3.5/GPT-4)

This is the widely accessible AI language model.

Pros:
  • Free (GPT-3.5) or affordable (GPT-4).
  • User-friendly interface.
  • Excellent for text summarization.
Cons:
  • Potential for factual inaccuracies.
  • Data privacy concerns for sensitive info.
  • Limited direct data integration.

Model B: Specialized Financial AI (e.g., BloombergGPT)

These are paid, domain-specific AI solutions.

Expert Tip: For highly sensitive data or large-scale automated analysis, consider specialized financial AI models. They offer enhanced security and domain-specific accuracy, but come with a higher cost and complexity.

3. Step-by-Step: Crafting Your Prompts

Here is an example of a well-structured prompt for financial analysis.

"Analyze the attached Profit & Loss statement for January 2025.
Provide a concise summary of key performance highlights and lowlights.
Identify significant variances from the previous month and explain potential reasons.
Suggest areas for further investigation.
The P&L is for [Company Name] and focuses on [Industry]."

4. Generating Commentary

  1. 1

    Input Your Data

    Copy-paste your financial data or summarize key figures directly into ChatGPT’s chat window.

  2. 2

    Refine Your Prompt

    Add specifics like “monthly”, “quarterly”, “compare to prior year”, “explain revenue drivers” to guide the AI’s analysis.

  3. 3

    Iterate and Review

    ChatGPT’s output is a draft. Refine by asking follow-up questions (“Elaborate on X”, “Rewrite for a non-financial audience”).

Important: Human Oversight is Key

Ensure you double-check all generated figures and interpretations against your raw data. AI is a tool, not a replacement for human oversight.

5. Review and Integrate

Final Review Checklist

  • Verify all numbers and facts presented by the AI
  • Ensure commentary aligns with strategic goals
  • Check for clarity, conciseness, and professional tone
  • Integrate approved commentary into your final report template

Need Help?

Get Support

Struggling to get the right insights from your AI? Our financial automation experts can help you design effective prompts and workflows.

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