The Best AI Prompts for Finance & Financial Reporting
Artificial intelligence (AI) has for the past decade helped companies quickly and efficiently prepare financial reports, check for errors, and even transmit SEC filings. Increasingly, companies want to incorporate more AI in financial reporting but may need help getting started. While AI-focused enterprise solutions are available, some companies are asking if using the popular Open AI’s ChatGPT tool for financial reports is a good option. Indeed — ChatGPT does have merit for this task. AI tools such as ChatGPT work best when instructed to work on one step at a time. Rather than assign ChatGPT the task of creating a complete financial report from scratch, ask it to work on a small part of the task before moving to the next. Also, it’s important always to review results for accuracy.
Here are some tips and suggested prompts to test out:
Tip 1: Summarize Financial Data
ChatGPT is skilled at ingesting and parsing large data sets. You can upload reports to the paid version of ChatGPT and ask it to summarize key findings. Choose to have key results formatted in a table using rows and columns you label or ask for an overview paragraph if you prefer a narrative summary.
Tip 2: Analyze Trends and Performance
ChatGPT can review data, pick out trends, and apply logic to trends and performance data. Ask ChatGPT to answer various questions from the data set without additional research. Or request a data visualization to accompany the report. ChatGPT cannot produce or predict future performance based on financial data.
Tip 3: Draft Financial Disclosure Notes
Tools like ChatGPT modify templates well to reflect new and updated information. For example, you can train the AI with financial disclosure notes from another report. Then, ask it to create draft financial disclosure notes using the template with new and updated information. Assuming there are no new regulations, the draft financial disclosure notes should reflect updated compliance needs, saving time.
Tip 4: Optimize Internal Audits
With training, ChatGPT can identify anomalies, flag potential errors and omissions, and verify accuracy and completeness. Using ChatGPT in the audit process allows companies to quickly parse extensive reports and hone in on areas that need attention, saving time and improving accuracy.
Examples of AI Prompts for Financial Reporting and SEC Filing
- Summarize Complex Financial Reports
- Prompt: “Summarize the key financial highlights and areas of concern from the latest quarterly financial report of [Company Name].”
- Analyze Trends in Financial Statements
- Prompt: “Analyze the last five years of [Company Name]’s financial statements and identify any recurring trends in revenue, expenses, and net income.”
- Explain SEC Filing Requirements
- Prompt: “Explain the filing requirements for a Form 10-K and the deadlines associated with it for a publicly traded company.”
- Update on Regulatory Changes
- Prompt: “Provide an update on the latest SEC regulatory changes affecting technology companies and how these changes impact annual reporting requirements.”
- Draft Notes for Financial Disclosures
- Prompt: “Draft notes for the financial disclosure section concerning revenue recognition policies for a SaaS company’s annual report.”
- Comparison of Financial Metrics
- Prompt: “Compare the debt-to-equity ratio and return on equity between [Company A] and [Company B] for the fiscal year ended [Year] and provide an analysis of what these metrics suggest about the financial health of both companies.”
- Prepare for SEC Audit
- Prompt: “Outline the steps a company should take to prepare for an unexpected SEC audit regarding its financial reporting practices.”
- Guidance on Non-GAAP Financial Measures
- Prompt: “Provide guidance on the appropriate use of non-GAAP financial measures in SEC filings, including examples of acceptable vs. unacceptable practices.”
- Insights on Market Trends
- Prompt: “Generate insights on current market trends affecting the financial sector and how companies should adjust their reporting and compliance strategies accordingly.”
- Compliance Checklist for New Regulations
- Prompt: “Create a compliance checklist for the newly implemented SEC regulation on cybersecurity risk disclosures for public companies.”
At DFIN, we’re staying on top of trends such as ChatGPT for financial services to help our clients maximize financial reporting accuracy and operational efficiency.
Give a few of these ChatGPT finance prompts a try — and if you need help preparing your next financial report or would like to learn more about how to leverage AI and machine learning for financial reporting, reach out anytime.
