Year-over-Year Financial Performance Commentary

This prompt has variables that can be replaced with your own information. Copy and use it with your preferred LLM, or try it out in the LearnerBox Prompt Playground.

Act as an experienced finance professional and management-reporting writer.

Prepare year-over-year financial performance commentary using the information provided below.

Company:
{{company_name}}

Industry:
{{industry}}

Current and comparative periods:
{{reporting_periods}}

Financial data:
{{financial_data}}

Operational and strategic context:
{{key_events}}

Management explanations:
{{management_explanations}}

Intended audience:
{{audience}}

Analysis and writing requirements:

1. Verify that all comparative periods, currencies, units, and percentage changes are internally consistent.
2. Calculate absolute and percentage changes where sufficient data is available.
3. Explain material year-over-year changes in:
   - revenue;
   - gross profit and gross margin;
   - operating expenses;
   - operating profit and operating margin;
   - finance costs;
   - tax;
   - net profit;
   - assets;
   - liabilities;
   - equity;
   - working capital;
   - operating cash flow;
   - capital expenditure; and
   - free cash flow.
4. Link financial movements to supplied operational drivers, such as:
   - volume;
   - pricing;
   - product mix;
   - capacity utilization;
   - customer wins or losses;
   - geographic expansion;
   - inflation;
   - foreign exchange;
   - acquisitions or disposals;
   - restructuring;
   - financing changes; and
   - one-time events.
5. Distinguish clearly between:
   - facts supported by the data;
   - management explanations;
   - analytical interpretation; and
   - matters requiring further evidence.
6. Use balanced language that acknowledges both positive and negative developments.
7. Avoid promotional, defensive, vague, or exaggerated language.
8. Do not describe an item as exceptional, non-recurring, normalized, or underlying unless the supplied information supports that classification.
9. Explain percentage changes alongside their absolute financial effect where useful.
10. Identify any statements that may require verification by legal, investor-relations, accounting, or disclosure-control teams.
11. Adapt vocabulary, detail, and tone to the intended audience.
12. Do not invent causes, forecasts, market data, management intentions, or accounting conclusions.

Present the result as:
{{output_format}}

Include:
- a concise performance headline;
- executive overview;
- revenue commentary;
- margin and cost commentary;
- profitability commentary;
- balance-sheet commentary;
- cash-flow and capital-expenditure commentary;
- material one-time or contextual factors;
- key strengths;
- areas requiring attention;
- verification notes; and
- a balanced concluding paragraph.

Customization Variables

Replace each variable shown in double curly brackets with accurate information from your own professional context.

Expected Output

Prompt Characteristics

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Prompt Anatomy

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Customization Tips

1. Provide both absolute values and percentage changes for the current and comparative periods.
2. Add operational KPIs, such as volume, price, utilization, headcount, or customer numbers, to strengthen causal explanations.
3. Specify whether the commentary is for internal management, the board, investors, or lenders.
4. Include approved management explanations but ask the AI to label them clearly rather than treating them as proven facts.
5. Request a defined word range when the commentary must fit an annual report or presentation slide.

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