Administration and finance
Summarising your figures for the monthly meeting
From a table full of numbers to three sentences everyone understands. Using AI to discuss your monthly figures without misreading them.
5 min read
Every month the same table: turnover, costs, outstanding invoices, hours. The numbers are there, but what do they mean? AI can help you put the main movements into plain words. The calculating stays with your accounting software or spreadsheet.
What AI does well here
- Reading a table and pointing out the most notable changes.
- Comparing with last month or the same period last year, if you supply those figures.
- Suggesting questions to raise in the meeting.
- Writing a short, neutral text for people who don't like reading tables.
What you don't hand over to AI
- The calculation itself. Totals, margins and percentages come from your software. Don't have them recalculated in a text. At most, ask it to check whether a given percentage looks plausible.
- The explanation. AI can't know why turnover fell. It can list possible causes for you to check. Ask explicitly for those to be phrased as questions, not facts.
- Decisions. An AI summary starts the conversation; it isn't advice.
A good format
Ask for the same format every time, so the meeting becomes predictable:
- The three most notable movements, with the figure.
- What's going well.
- What needs attention.
- Three questions for the meeting.
Sensitive figures
Your company's financial data is confidential. Use a business AI account, or remove customer and personal names. Rounded figures are often enough for a summary.
Pause and reflect
Your answers stay only in this browser.
Prompt to copy
Below are our monthly figures, with last month alongside. Don't recalculate anything. Give: 1) the three most notable movements with the figure, 2) what's going well, 3) what needs attention, 4) three questions for our meeting. Don't present explanations as fact; phrase them as questions. No more than 200 words.
[paste the table]
