Hire an AI inventory accounting comparison reviewer

Everything it can hand back

Your task sets the actual outputs. The specialist picks the methods that cover them.

• An inventory change register. Each change in costing method, reserve, write-down or reversal shows its source, its date and its effect on cost of goods sold.
• A LIFO to FIFO margin bridge, for a company that uses LIFO
• A margin view with write-downs and reversals taken out, next to the reported margin
• The cash invested in stock, after noncash changes are removed
• Reviewer questions for anything missing, plus MISSING lines, checks that could not run and a record for next time

How it does the job well

• Reconcile to source documents, such as bank statements, ledgers and invoices, before reporting.
• Show the calculation, inputs and period for every figure.
• Label actuals, estimates and forecasts clearly.
• Send tax, legal and regulatory questions to a qualified professional.

Mistakes it avoids

• Mixing cash and accrual figures, or different periods, in one comparison.
• Rounding or formula errors that do not tie back to totals.
• Giving personal investment advice.

What a good result looks like

An example, not your task: A company you follow reports new inventory notes and you want to know if its margin moved because of the business or because of accounting.

• Changed since last review. Each costing, reserve, write-down or noncash change that is new, with its filing page and date.
• LIFO to FIFO bridge. Reserve movement, FIFO cost of goods sold, margin on each basis and tax effect. A reserve cut is flagged as a one-off.
• Write-down margin bridge. Reported margin, the net of charges and reversals, and margin without them. Any overlap with the LIFO step is named.
• Cash invested in stock. The change in stock less purchases, currency and write-offs, tied to the cash flow statement.
• Trailing view (only if asked). Trailing revenue and cost of goods sold on one basis. Margins and balances are not added up.
• Change register. One row per change: the item, what changed, the source and date, and the effect on cost of goods sold.

How the work is checked

• Reported and comparable cost of goods sold reconcile. No write-down or reversal is counted twice.
• LIFO is used only for a company that reports it under US GAAP. A reserve cut is flagged as a one-off.
• Noncash movements stay out of cash investment. Adjusted values never replace reported cash flow inputs.
• A change in costing method or reserve scope starts a new, documented basis.
• States which checks passed, failed or could not run, and names missing inputs.

These checks have not been run against a model yet. Your AI uses them to check its own work.

Capabilities

• Compares with the last review. Reads the saved record if it belongs to this company, or sets a first baseline. Compares the costing basis, the reserve definition, the periods and the currency with the record. If nothing changed and no review is due, it says so and stops.
• Bridges LIFO to FIFO. Only for a company that reports under US GAAP and uses LIFO. It adds the closing reserve to LIFO stock and takes the operating reserve increase off cost of goods sold. Business purchases, currency and method changes are left out of the increase.
• Pulls out write-downs and reversals. Checks each charge sits in the chosen cost line. It nets charges and reversals, removes them, and shows margin both ways. The reported margin stays first.
• Separates cash from noncash. Takes the change in stock and removes business purchases, currency and write-offs. What is left is cash invested. Adjusted FIFO values never replace the reported cash flow.
• Builds a trailing view when asked. Only if you want a trailing-year comparison. It adds the last full year to the current year to date and takes off the same period a year ago, for revenue and cost of goods sold only. A change in method needs a new, documented basis.
• Reconciles and saves the record. Ties cost of goods sold, margin and cash to the filings, lists every changed item, and writes a short record for next time. It keeps the old record.

How the role works

1. Checks your task, context and available tools.
2. Picks the methods needed and prepares a work plan.
3. Carries out supported tasks, with each method's limits and review gates.
4. Checks the real deliverables and corrects supported faults.
5. Hands back files, evidence and unresolved gaps.

Your specialist's working setup

Download the base specialist without a task form or account. README.md and SETUP.md explain how to use the folder. SOUL.md defines its scope. INTAKE.md asks missing questions inside your AI. PLAYBOOK.md, SKILLS.md, BEST_PRACTICES.md, CHECKS.md and HANDOFF.md guide the work and its checked deliverables.

Complete associated skills, supporting files and licences are included. Choose only the methods needed for the actual task. Keep context, working files and accepted feedback in your AI project.

Use this specialist through MCP or the API

Call prepare_specialist with role_id inventory-accounting-comparability-review-assistant only. No task is required to load it. Your AI asks what job you need done, what you want back and which relevant context it can use.

For task-led hiring, call find_specialist, explain the suggested specialists and let the user accept or change the team.

Complete ZIP: Download base specialist. API: GET /api/v1/specialists/inventory-accounting-comparability-review-assistant/pack. The host AI supplies its own model, tools and execution; a pack does not connect accounts or run a task.

Inputs and helpful context

The specialist starts from the task brief. Only active methods require their inputs.

For the primary method, when used

• The new dated filing, with the inventory note, the income statement and the cash flow statement (from the company's results page)
• For a LIFO company, the LIFO reserve at the start and end of the period, and the tax effect if disclosed (from the inventory note)
• The inventory write-downs and reversals for the period, and the income statement line they sit in (from the inventory note)
• Notes on business purchases, currency moves and other noncash changes in stock (from the notes to the accounts)
• The accounting basis, such as US GAAP or IFRS, the reporting date, the currency and the scale
• Your materiality threshold, such as 0.1 percentage points of margin
• Your last accepted model and its review log (optional on a first run)
• The record from the last review, pasted in (optional on a first run)

Helpful context (optional)

• The company's own inventory note, not a summary of it.
• The notes on business purchases and currency, so noncash moves can be removed.
• A named reviewer who knows the filings and will answer the questions it raises.

Tools and access

• A spreadsheet engine and file-capable AI: Builds a workbook with inputs and formulas you can click into, and can save the record file. In plain chat it returns the same tables as text.
• The company's filing page: Gives the dated inventory note and cash flow statement, each with a page you can cite.
• A spreadsheet engine and file-capable AI: Builds a workbook with inputs, formulas and a checks tab you can click into. In plain chat it returns the same tables as text and says no workbook was made.
• A spreadsheet engine and file-capable AI: Create, recalculate, render and reopen the requested native workbook.
• Node.js 20 or later: Run the bundled dependency-free reference calculation against explicit numeric inputs.

Functions and deliverables

• Inventory accounting comparison reviewer: Check how stock accounting affects margins. Keep charges and comparison figures separate from reported cash.
  • An inventory change register. Each change in costing method, reserve, write-down or reversal shows its source, its date and its effect on cost of goods sold.
  • A LIFO to FIFO margin bridge, for a company that uses LIFO
  • A margin view with write-downs and reversals taken out, next to the reported margin
  • The cash invested in stock, after noncash changes are removed
  • Reviewer questions for anything missing, plus MISSING lines, checks that could not run and a record for next time
• Inventory cost and margin reviewer: Check stock reserve changes and charges before comparing margins. Keep noncash changes separate from cash spent on inventory.
  • A FIFO comparable inventory, cost of goods sold and after-tax earnings view, if LIFO applies
  • Gross margin as reported and with inventory charges taken out, kept apart
  • Operating cash invested in inventory, with noncash movements taken out
  • A check that no charge or reserve change was counted twice
  • Missing facts, and checks that could not run
• Trailing year financial calculator: Share annual and matching year-to-date figures. Get a trailing-year sales or profit total with period checks.
  • A trailing 12-month figure built from last year, this year to date and the same period last year, with the period checks.
  • An editable workbook of the trailing twelve months, with its inputs, formulas and test cases to rerun.
  • A tie-out of the trailing figure and four quarters where available, the inputs still missing and the checks that ran.
• Inventory write-down margin checker: Share sales, costs and stock write-downs. See their effect on reported gross profit and margin.
  • A reported-to-charge-excluded gross-margin bridge with recurring-cost cautions.
  • An editable workbook of the inventory charge margin bridge, with its inputs, formulas and test cases to rerun.
  • A tie-out of reported margin and the charge-excluded margin, the inputs still missing and the checks that ran.
• me.md builder: Answer a few questions, or let your AI use what it remembers. Get one private file that tells any AI who you are.
  • One me.md file with up to ten dated sections
  • A list of facts taken from memory, for you to check
  • A short note of what it removed for privacy
  • The two next steps, to save it and set it up

Tasks you can use it for

• A company you follow reports new inventory notes and you want to know if its margin moved because of the business or because of accounting.
• You want to compare a LIFO company's margin with a FIFO company's margin on the same footing.
• A filing shows a write-down or a reversal, and you need to know how much of the margin change it explains.
• Stock on the balance sheet jumped, and you want to know how much was cash and how much was a purchase of a business or a currency move.

Limits to check before starting

• You want the LIFO to FIFO adjustment for one year only. Use the LIFO to FIFO comparison calculator.
• You only want to pull a write-down out of one margin. Use the Inventory write-down margin checker.
• You only want to see how much cash went into working capital. Use the Working capital cash change checker.
• You want a bank borrowing limit for your own stock. Use the Inventory borrowing limit calculator.
• You want to value stock, set a reserve or decide what to buy. It explains reported numbers and gives no view on value.

Best way to use this role

Give it one clear outcome, the actual files and a definition of done. Keep the work in one AI project so it can reuse checked context and earlier files.

• Download the pack and give it to an AI that can read files, such as Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini. For a workbook, pick one that can create spreadsheets. In plain chat it returns the same tables as text.
• Say whether this is the first run. If not, paste the record from last time and attach the last accepted model. Then attach the new filing, say US GAAP or IFRS, and give your threshold, currency and scale.
• Read "changed since last review" first. Check each reserve figure, write-down and reversal against the page of the filing it came from.
• For a LIFO company, check the bridge by hand: closing reserve added to LIFO stock, and the reserve increase taken off cost of goods sold. Check that a reserve cut is flagged as a one-off, not as growth.
• Check that each write-down is counted once, in one adjustment only. Then check that the cash invested in stock equals the balance change less the noncash items.
• Answer the questions or leave them marked MISSING. Nothing is filed, sent or traded.

Read it as data

Read the complete role setup as JSON. Connect your AI to the AI Blocks MCP library and read aiblocks://roles/inventory-accounting-comparability-review-assistant for its role instructions and pinned sources.

This is a prepared AI role. No task has run. Your AI carries out authorized work using its available tools and reports the actual deliverables and checks.