{ "schema": "aiblocks-page/1", "id": "agency-finance-fpa-analyst", "type": "agent", "name": "Budget and forecast analyst", "summary": "Get a budget versus actual review with the reason behind each big gap, an updated full-year forecast and an action for each budget owner.", "headline": "Budget and forecast analyst", "subhead": "Paste your budget and your actuals for the month. Add the drivers behind your plan and the gap size you want explained. It finds the reason behind each big gap, says if it will repeat and updates your full-year forecast. You get a variance review and a list of actions.", "job": { "id": "plan-budgets-and-cash", "name": "Plan budgets, costs and cash flow" }, "level": "intermediate", "thinking": "high", "tested": true, "updated": "2026-11-03", "first_published": "2026-10-26", "inputs": [ { "type": "question", "required": true, "label": "Question", "what": "the problem, decision or piece of work you want help with, and what a good outcome looks like" }, { "type": "spreadsheet", "required": true, "label": "Spreadsheet", "what": "a spreadsheet with its data, formulas and charts" } ], "outputs": [ { "type": "brief", "required": true, "label": "Brief", "what": "a creative brief: goal, audience, angle, offer, mandatory claims (by ID), formats" }, { "type": "plan", "required": true, "label": "Plan", "what": "a dated plan: what to do, in what order, with a decision rule for each step" } ], "you_give": [ "Your budget for the period, by line or by department, as a table or spreadsheet.", "Your actuals for the same period and lines, from your accounting software.", "The drivers behind your plan, such as units sold, price, headcount or ad spend.", "The gap size that should be explained, such as any line more than 5% or $1,000 off", "Last period's forecast, and what you know about deals or costs that moved (optional)" ], "you_get": [ "A variance table by line with the gap in dollars and in percent", "The reason behind each gap above your threshold, marked timing or lasting", "An updated full-year forecast in a base, better and worse case", "The trade-off shown for any new budget request", "An action list with an owner and a date for each item" ], "use_when": [ "Month end has passed and you need to explain to your team or your boss why you are over or under budget.", "A manager asks for more budget and you want to see what it costs and what you would give up.", "Your forecast was wrong and you want to know where it keeps missing.", "You are building next year's budget and want each line linked to a driver, not to last year's number." ], "skip_when": [ "You want a first budget built from scratch. Use the Budget and forecast builder or the Department budget planner.", "You want to decide on one big spend. Use the Finance decision reviewer.", "You want a financial model checked for errors. Use the Financial Analyst agent.", "You need an audited statement or a tax return. Those go to a qualified accountant." ], "output_sample": { "input": [ "Your budget for the period, by line or by department", "Your actuals for the same lines and period", "The drivers behind the plan, such as units, price or headcount", "The gap size to explain, and last period's forecast (optional)" ], "prerequisites": [ "An AI that can read pasted tables or a spreadsheet file" ], "output": [ { "name": "Frame", "contains": "The period, the number of lines checked and the gap size explained." }, { "name": "Variance table", "contains": "Plan, actual and the gap in dollars and percent for each line." }, { "name": "Explanations", "contains": "The cause of each large gap, marked timing or lasting, with the effect on the year." }, { "name": "Driver check", "contains": "Each line's business driver, and lines with none found." }, { "name": "Forecast update", "contains": "A base, better and worse full-year view with what changed." }, { "name": "Trade-offs", "contains": "What a new request would cost, what to cut or defer and the risk accepted." }, { "name": "Actions", "contains": "Each action with an owner, a due date and its status." }, { "name": "Open questions", "contains": "Questions for budget owners, with why each one matters." } ] }, "output_shape": "FRAME\n Period | Lines checked | Gap size explained \n\nVARIANCE TABLE\n | Plan | Actual | Gap | Over or under\n\nEXPLANATIONS\n | | | \n\nDRIVER CHECK\n | | \n\nFORECAST UPDATE\n | Full-year revenue | Full-year costs | \n\nTRADE-OFFS\n | | \n\nACTIONS\n | | | \n\nOPEN QUESTIONS\n | ", "how_to_use": [ "Download the pack from this page and add it to your AI as a skill. If you cannot, paste SKILL.md into a new chat, then paste references/source-agent.md.", "Paste the budget and the actuals for the same lines and the same period. Say which period it is and what the full year plan was.", "Add the drivers behind the plan, and the gap size you want explained. No code or software access is needed.", "Type \"Review this period. Explain each gap above my line. Say if it is timing or lasting. Do not guess a reason I did not give you.\"", "Answer the questions it asks about the big gaps, such as \"did the deal slip or was it lost?\" Then ask it to update the forecast.", "Send each budget owner their own lines and action. Run the review again next month with the new forecast." ], "checks": [ "The result addresses your actual task and cites the evidence used.", "Examples, role-play experience and targets are kept separate from verified results.", "Claims of tests, memory, tool access or completed actions match what actually happened." ], "next": [ { "name": "Store revenue forecast builder", "url": "https://useaiblocks.com/skills/store-revenue-forecast-builder", "why": "Store revenue forecast builder" } ], "source": { "by": "Michael Sitarzewski and Agency Agents contributors", "repo": "msitarzewski/agency-agents", "url": "https://github.com/msitarzewski/agency-agents/blob/b37b5bb33b78f2c1d6567d98e25ca818e3259219/finance/finance-fpa-analyst.md", "licence": "MIT", "original_name": "FP&A Analyst", "commit": "b37b5bb33b78f2c1d6567d98e25ca818e3259219" }, "credits": [ { "title": "FP&A Analyst", "by": "Michael Sitarzewski and Agency Agents contributors", "url": "https://github.com/msitarzewski/agency-agents/blob/b37b5bb33b78f2c1d6567d98e25ca818e3259219/finance/finance-fpa-analyst.md", "used": "Original agent profile, preserved in references/source-agent.md; AI Blocks adds setup and review instructions." } ], "files": [ "LICENSE", "references/source-agent.md", "SETUP.md", "source.json" ], "links": { "page": "https://useaiblocks.com/agents/agency-finance-fpa-analyst", "markdown": "https://useaiblocks.com/agents/agency-finance-fpa-analyst.md", "json": "https://useaiblocks.com/agents/agency-finance-fpa-analyst.json", "instructions": "https://useaiblocks.com/skills/agency-finance-fpa-analyst/SKILL.md", "download": "https://useaiblocks.com/skills/agency-finance-fpa-analyst.zip", "api_item": "https://useaiblocks.com/api/v1/items/agency-finance-fpa-analyst", "api_document": "https://useaiblocks.com/api/v1/documents/agent/agency-finance-fpa-analyst", "mcp": "https://useaiblocks.com/mcp" } }