Quick check
Guess first, no penalty. You give AI a cost table with no notes. It writes: "Costs rose 12%, driven by higher supplier prices." What is the "driven by" part?
Ask AI why a number moved, and it will always give you a reason. Reports usually explain their numbers, so the tool writes an explanation too: seasonal demand, supplier prices, a strong quarter. If your data doesn't contain the reason, the tool made it up.
That's risky in finance, because commentary (the plain-English notes beside the numbers) is what managers act on. A guessed driver (the cause behind a number) can send a team to fix the wrong problem.
So every "because" needs a source. If the reason isn't in your data, the comment says so and names who will find out.
Before and after
Here, cost of sales means what it cost to make the goods you sold.
Before and after
Switch between the AI draft and the fixed comment. Highlights show what changed.
AI draft
Cost of sales rose 12% in March, driven by higher supplier prices and seasonal demand. Margins should recover next quarter.
The fix keeps the number, adds the amounts so anyone can recompute it, and swaps two guesses and a forecast for a named next step.
Fill the gaps
Rebuild the fixed comment.
Fixed comment
Cost of sales rose 12% in March, . Reason .
Two lines in your prompt (the message you send to the AI) prevent most of this: "Use only my data. Where it doesn't show a reason, write reason needed." Then ask: "List every reason in your draft and the line of my data that supports it."
Try it
Your steps, about 2 minutes
- 1.Give an AI tool a small table of made-up costs and ask why they changed. Ask which line of your data supports each reason. Add line 4 to your check sheet: "Every reason needs a source, or it says reason needed."2 min