Overview
Financial reports that list actuals vs. budget without explaining the variance are not analysis — they are accounting. The CFO already knows revenue missed by €340k. What they need to know is why it missed, whether the miss is structural or timing-related, and what the revised expectation for the full year is. Without those three elements, the report is a historical record that enables no decision.
Variance analysis is the core skill of financial reporting, and the most commonly done poorly. "Revenue was below budget due to lower-than-expected sales" is not variance analysis. It is a restatement of the variance in different words. Variance analysis identifies the specific drivers: which product lines, which geographies, which customer segments, and whether the driver is volume, price, or mix.
The Financial Performance Analysis Report Prompt generates a complete financial analysis framework: variance decomposition by driver, root cause attribution, forward-looking reforecast, and a management commentary template that explains what happened, why, and what to expect.
What you get: - Variance decomposition by driver (volume/price/mix) - Root cause attribution with evidence - Forward-looking reforecast with assumptions - Management commentary template - Risk and opportunity quantification
Built for: finance analysts, FP&A teams, and CFOs who need to explain financial performance to management and boards with the specificity that enables action.