Explain the gap between forecast and actual, line by line.

Compare actual results against the approved forecast at month-end, attribute each material variance to a cause, and prepare a brief with the assumptions that need revisiting.

Who it isA financial analyst who explains the gap between the forecast and what happened.

Wakes upAt each month-end

Reads

Reports toSlack or a dedicated mailbox. You choose on the next screen.

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Financeone of 24 ready-made agents in the library

Deliverable

A variance brief with attributed causes, unexplained gaps, and assumptions to revisit.

Human sign-off required

A variance brief with attributed causes, unexplained gaps, and assumptions to revisit. Prepared for review, never posted.

How this composition works.

Variance reporting often stops at the number. This workflow attributes each material gap to an identifiable cause where the evidence supports one, and states plainly where it does not. The assumptions it flags are proposals for the analyst who owns the model, not edits to it.

Load actuals

Read settled revenue and refund activity for the closed period.

Load the approved forecast

Retrieve the forecast the period was measured against.

Attribute the variance

Match each material gap to a cause, and mark the ones evidence cannot explain.

A human signs off

Forecast revisions, reported figures, and model changes require a finance owner.

Deliverable

A variance brief with attributed causes, unexplained gaps, and assumptions to revisit.

Human sign-off required

A variance brief with attributed causes, unexplained gaps, and assumptions to revisit. Prepared for review, never posted.

Composed from the tools finance already uses.

Stripe. Read and manage Stripe customers, payments, subscriptions, invoices, and revenue data.

Airtable. Query and create Airtable tables, fields, and records.

Google Drive. Read, search, and manage files in Google Drive.

Optional skills add method and verification.

Variance Analysis. Explain budget, forecast, or period variances by tracing them to supported business drivers. Use for management reporting, close commentary, or forecast reviews. See the playbook →

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More for finance.

At each month-end

Month-end close review

Reconcile payout activity against the approved close records, explain mismatches, and prepare a review packet for qualified sign-off.

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Every Monday morning

Receivables review

Find overdue invoices, assemble recent account and correspondence context, and prepare a prioritized follow-up list without sending messages.

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Daily

Spend anomaly watch

Read daily payment and refund activity, compare each category against its recent baseline, and flag only the movements that are large enough to need an explanation.

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