finances

Finances Skill

Use this skill when the work touches the finance operating system, not just a single spreadsheet.

It covers six linked modes:

• expense operations and bill monitoring
• reconciliation and evidence gathering
• month-end close planning and blocker tracking
• executive CFO briefings, scenario work, and planning models
• tax document readiness and evidence packaging
• fundraising materials, pipeline diagnostics, and close acceleration

Core Operating Contract

For every finance task, establish these before analysis:

1. reporting period or effective date
2. legal entity, household, or scope
3. source of truth for each number or document
4. output artifact the user needs
5. owner, reviewer, and unresolved decisions if this affects close, audit, or filing

Normalize dates to YYYY-MM-DD and normalize currency before comparing sources. If the user mixes entities, periods, or currencies, stop and split the work into clean scopes.

Evidence And Artifact Management

Finance work degrades when evidence is scattered. Treat storage, comments, and reviewable workpapers as part of the workflow.

If Google Drive or shared storage is available:

• search for the existing folder or file before creating duplicates
• keep one canonical location for statements, receipts, models, decks, tax packs, and close outputs
• preserve links to source files, exported workpapers, and reviewer comments
• use comments or replies on shared files for open questions and review history
• export or copy only when the downstream consumer truly needs a separate file

If work is local-only:

• keep stable relative paths in outputs
• name files by period and entity
• separate source documents from generated outputs

See references/drive-evidence-ops.md when the task needs a concrete storage pattern.

Sheets-Backed Workpapers

When the work is fundamentally row-oriented, prefer a canonical sheet over free text notes or duplicate CSVs.

Use a sheet when the user needs:

• a bill calendar with due dates, autopay, and owner fields
• an expense review queue or reconciliation tracker
• a close dashboard with owners, deadlines, and blocker status
• a tax-document checklist with missing items and evidence links
• scenario inputs and outputs that multiple reviewers must update safely

Recommended tabs:

• bill_calendar
• expense_review_queue
• recon_items
• close_dashboard
• tax_doc_checklist
• scenario_inputs
• scenario_outputs

Operating rules:

• read the current structure before writing
• update only the rows or ranges you intend to change
• preserve formulas, protected tabs, comments, and validation rules
• prefer atomic multi-change updates over scattered edits
• keep raw imports separate from reviewed or presentation tabs

See references/google-sheets-workpapers.md for the connector-first and schema-first pattern adapted from gws-sheets.

Mode 1: Expense Operations And Bill Monitoring

Use for receipt intake, expense categorization, weekly or monthly spend review, budget monitoring, recurring bill tracking, or any request to turn messy transaction activity into a usable finance operating view.

Expense And Bills Workflow

1. define the scope: accounts, entity, reporting period, and base currency
2. gather raw sources: receipts, bank notifications, exported transactions, invoices, email bill notices, and any recurring bill schedule
3. normalize each row to a canonical schema before analysis
4. categorize with explicit rules first, then review uncategorized or odd items
5. build a bill calendar from due dates, autopay status, and payment evidence
6. flag duplicates, suspicious amounts, missing support, bill spikes, and new or missing recurring billers
7. compare spend against the active budget or burn guardrail
8. emit a structured report with totals, alerts, and follow-ups

Canonical Expense Row Schema

Normalize expense rows to:

• date
• description
• merchant
• amount
• currency
• account
• category
• source
• receipt_link
• invoice_id
• is_recurring
• status

For recurring bills, maintain:

• name
• amount
• currency
• due_day or due_date
• autopay
• owner
• category
• account
• status
• last_seen_date
• statement_link

Categorization Rules

Prefer deterministic categorization before free-form judgment:

• use merchant and keyword rules first
• keep a visible uncategorized bucket until evidence improves
• only promote a new category if it will recur or affects reporting
• distinguish operating expense categories from balance-sheet settlements

Useful default categories:

• food
• transport
• utilities
• entertainment
• shopping
• health
• housing
• education
• subscription
• software
• professional_services
• payroll_related
• taxes_fees
• uncategorized

Bill Monitoring Rules

Organize bills into:

• overdue
• due_this_week
• due_this_month
• autopay_scheduled

Default alert thresholds:

• due in 0-2 days without confirmed autopay or payment: urgent
• due in 3-7 days: upcoming
• significant amount increase versus prior periods: investigate
• new biller with material amount: review_now
• expected recurring bill missing this cycle: investigate
• autopay status unclear: assume manual attention is required

If the evidence comes from email, search recent mail for phrases such as bill, statement, amount due, payment due, invoice, and autopay. Note when the only support is a PDF attachment that still needs manual review.

Required Output Shape

Produce:

• categorized expense ledger or summary table
• period totals with category rollup and largest drivers
• budget status with budget_amount, actual_amount, variance_amount, and variance_pct
• review queue for uncategorized, duplicate, suspicious, unsupported, or missing-recurring items
• bill calendar with name, due_date, days_until_due, amount, owner, autopay, status, and next_action

See references/expense-ops.md for concrete cadence, schemas, categorization patterns, anomaly checks, reminder rules, and sheet layout.

Mode 2: Reconciliation

Use for bank recs, GL-to-subledger recs, intercompany recs, expense and receipt matching, or any request to explain why two finance views do not tie.

Reconciliation Workflow

1. define the reconciliation type and as-of date
2. load both sides from authoritative sources
3. normalize keys: date, amount sign, entity, account, currency, description
4. compare totals first, then line items
5. classify every exception
6. attach evidence, owner, and next action
7. summarize what is resolved, what needs entries, and what blocks close

Supported Reconciliation Types

• bank to GL cash
• GL control account to subledger
• intercompany receivable/payable
• expense rows to receipts or support
• source exports to reporting model actuals

Exception Categories

Classify each difference into one of these buckets:

• timing_difference: normal processing lag; should clear without an entry
• adjustment_required: needs JE or source-system correction
• investigate: cause is not yet known

Never leave a discrepancy unclassified.

Required Output Shape

Produce:

• reconciliation summary: balances compared, net difference, close impact
• reconciling items table with id, category, owner, status, age_days, next_action, and evidence_link
• journal-entry queue for any adjustment_required items
• blocker list for anything that prevents sign-off

Track aging aggressively. As a default:

• 0-30 days: current
• 31-60 days: investigate
• 61-90 days: escalate
• 90+ days: stale and management review

See references/reconciliation-playbook.md for detailed methods, root causes, aging, and escalation triggers.

Mode 3: Month-End Close Management

Use when the user wants a close calendar, status dashboard, dependency plan, accelerated-close design, or blocker review.

Close Management Workflow

1. identify close target: standard or accelerated
2. map tasks by day and by dependency level
3. assign owners, deadlines, and reviewer
4. identify the critical path
5. track status and blockers daily
6. escalate risks to close timing
7. finish with retrospective improvements

Default Close Cadence

Use the standard pre-close, T+1, T+2, T+3, T+4, T+5 framing unless the user already has a company-specific calendar.

Typical critical path:

cash/AP/AR entries -> subledger reconciliations -> balance sheet recs -> tax provision -> draft financials -> management review -> hard close

When asked to shorten close duration, default recommendations are:

• automate recurring Level 1 entries
• pre-reconcile during the month
• parallelize independent reconciliations
• reduce handoffs and late submissions
• standardize support and variance templates

Required Close Output Shape

Produce a dashboard or table with:

• task
• owner
• deadline
• status
• dependency
• blocker
• notes

Use these status values:

• not_started
• in_progress
• complete
• blocked
• at_risk

When the user asks for a faster close, include:

• current close duration
• target duration
• prerequisites to hit the target
• bottlenecks
• automation or process fixes

See references/close-management.md for the day-by-day checklist, dependency map, critical path, 3-day close prerequisites, and retrospective questions.

Mode 4: Executive CFO Briefings And Scenario Work

Use for QuickBooks or ERP export review, board-ready finance summaries, cash and burn analysis, runway review, cost-driver analysis, planning models, or scenario packs that need clear operating conclusions.

Typical Inputs

Useful inputs include any subset of:

• P&L summary or detail
• balance sheet
• cash flow statement
• general ledger
• expenses by vendor
• transaction list by vendor
• AP or bill payment history
• account list or chart of accounts
• headcount or payroll summary

The skill should still work when the user only has one or two of these inputs. State the confidence limits if source coverage is partial.

CFO Briefing Workflow

1. identify the accounting system, report dates, and entity scope
2. ingest the available exports and map them to a common structure
3. compute core KPIs and compare against prior periods when history exists
4. flag anomalies: margin changes, vendor spikes, concentration risk, or cash deterioration
5. produce a red/yellow/green operating summary with supporting evidence
6. model named scenarios when the user needs forward-looking guidance
7. tie every recommendation back to a cost lever, revenue lever, or risk control

Required CFO Briefing Outputs

Produce:

• executive summary with green, yellow, or red status per key area
• KPI table for revenue, gross margin, operating income, net income, burn, runway, people costs, tool costs, and concentration risk when available
• month-over-month or period-over-period change table when history exists
• anomaly list with evidence, likely cause, and next action
• scenario section with base, upside, and downside assumptions when requested
• explicit limitations when any major source is missing

Modeling Rules

• make assumptions explicit and dated
• show ranges when estimating
• separate historical actuals from forecast assumptions
• surface the few drivers that matter most instead of cluttering the output
• call out structural model risks such as circularity, broken ties, or unsupported inputs

Use references/cfo-briefings.md and templates/cfo-briefing.md when the user needs an executive-ready artifact.

Mode 5: Tax Document Readiness

Use for tax-document cleanup, filing-season document intake, deduction support gathering, missing-document checklists, or any request to turn a messy tax folder into a reviewable package.

Tax Document Workflow

1. define the tax year, entity or household scope, and filing context
2. scan the folder, inbox, or shared drive for likely tax documents
3. categorize documents by type using filename, sender, or statement context
4. place or reference each document in a stable year/category structure
5. build a checklist with found, missing, duplicate, and unclear items
6. highlight categories that may be missing while noting they may not apply
7. produce a package the user or advisor can review quickly

Common Tax Categories

Track categories such as:

• W-2 (Wages)
• 1099 (Income)
• 1098 (Deductions)
• Receipts & Expenses
• Charitable Donations
• Medical Expenses
• Property Tax
• Mortgage Interest
• Investment Records
• Business/Self-Employment
• Education/Dependents
• Insurance
• State & Local Tax
• Retirement
• Uncategorized

Required Output Shape

Produce:

• document inventory with category, document_name, source, path_or_link, status, and notes
• missing or likely-missing categories with a short explanation
• duplicate or unreadable-document queue
• year/category folder recommendation if the documents are still unstructured
• advisor handoff summary when the user wants a filing pack

Use scripts/tax_document_inventory.py for non-destructive directory scans and templates/tax-document-checklist.md for the review artifact. See references/tax-document-ops.md for category rules, folder structure, and review guidance.

Mode 6: Fundraising

Use for investor messaging, materials audits, pipeline diagnostics, or plans to compress fundraising cycle time.

Outputs are structured into five sections:

1. Investor-Ready Messaging
2. Materials Upgrade Report
3. Process Diagnostics
4. Speed-Up Plan
5. Quick Wins & Risks

Fundraising Workflow

1. gather the deck, model, data room summary, and pipeline snapshot
2. normalize dates, stage, entity, and currency
3. produce messaging with evidence-backed FAQ rebuttals
4. score materials and assign concrete next actions
5. diagnose pipeline bottlenecks and stage velocity
6. build a speed-up plan with owners and target dates
7. close with the single highest-leverage action

Investor Messaging Rules

• core narrative must answer why now, why this team, and why this business
• tailored hooks should be one-line variations, not full rewrites
• FAQ rebuttals should cite the underlying deck, model, or CRM evidence
• mark estimates with (est.)

Materials Upgrade Rules

• every gap needs a next action
• every next action needs an owner and due date when those can be inferred
• prioritize by investor impact first, effort second

Process Diagnostics Rules

• show stage counts, days in stage, and obvious drop-off points
• compare against references/process-benchmarks.md when useful
• name the bottleneck, likely cause, and the operational fix

Speed-Up Plan Rules

• map the critical path from outreach to close
• identify automations, templates, or prep work that remove cycle time
• optionally emit JSON matching templates/speed-up-plan.json

Use references/investor-messaging-frameworks.md, templates/materials-upgrade-report.md, and examples/fundraise-output-example.md as needed.

Operating Cadence Defaults

When the user asks for a finance operating rhythm and does not provide one, default to:

• daily 20:00 local time: ingest new receipts and notifications, categorize new spend, and refresh the review queue
• weekly Sunday 18:00 local time: issue expense summary with budget status and category drivers
• weekly Monday 08:00 local time: refresh the bill calendar, surface amount spikes, and highlight manual payments due soon
• weekly Monday 09:00 local time during filing season: refresh the tax document checklist and missing-item report
• month-end: roll unresolved expense or recon exceptions into close blockers and cash forecast updates

These defaults are strong starting points, not mandatory schedules. Override them when the company already has a known AP, treasury, tax, or close cadence.

Integrated Finance Flows

These modes are designed to chain together:

• expense operations -> reconciliation: categorized spend and bill control reduce unresolved cash and support exceptions
• expense operations -> close management: due bills and unsupported expenses become AP or close blockers when they age
• reconciliation -> close management: unresolved recon items become close blockers
• reconciliation -> CFO briefing: cleaner actuals improve briefing credibility
• CFO briefing -> modeling: anomaly review improves forecast assumptions
• tax readiness -> close management: clean evidence and document folders reduce filing and audit friction
• modeling -> fundraising: the investor model should reconcile to the operating model
• fundraising -> close management: weak monthly finance discipline later shows up as diligence friction

When the user asks for a broad finance improvement effort, default to this sequence:

1. stabilize expense intake and bill monitoring
2. reconcile the numbers
3. stabilize the close process
4. build the CFO briefing and scenario view
5. clean up tax evidence and document readiness
6. upgrade investor-facing materials if fundraising is active

Validation Checklist

• Dates, currency, and entity scope are normalized.
• Every number in the output has a named source or is marked as estimated.
• Expense rows are normalized and categorized or explicitly left as uncategorized.
• Duplicate, suspicious, unsupported, or missing recurring items are flagged.
• Bills have due timing, owner, and autopay status.
• Every discrepancy or blocker has an owner and next action.
• Reconciliation exceptions are categorized and aged.
• Close outputs include dependency-aware status, not just a checklist.
• CFO briefings state source coverage, KPI status, and scenario assumptions.
• Tax-document outputs distinguish found, missing, duplicate, and unclear items.
• Fundraising outputs include all five sections when that mode is requested.

Legal Disclaimer

This skill provides guidance based on common finance, tax-operations, and fundraising practices; it is not legal, tax, or financial advice. Always consult qualified advisors for filings, tax positions, securities matters, cap table decisions, and compliance. Jurisdictions differ.