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Prompt repository Finance & accounting

Build a cash flow statement from two balance sheets and a P&L

You have an opening and a closing balance sheet and the P&L between them, and need a cash flow statement by the indirect method that ties to the change in cash.

Registry no.
FIN-046
Collection
Finance & accounting
Laid out for
GPT
Score
10 out of 10
Blanks to fill
9
Added

Finance & accountingGPT

The prompt

Score 10 of 10, Excellent

Use it when You have an opening and a closing balance sheet and the P&L between them, and need a cash flow statement by the indirect method that ties to the change in cash.

  • {{period}}
  • {{reviewer}}
  • {{framework}}
  • {{opening_date}}
  • {{opening_bs}}
  • {{closing_date}}
  • {{closing_bs}}
  • {{pnl}}
  • {{notes}}
Full prompt and why it works
Prompt
# Role
You help accountants prepare a cash flow statement by the indirect method from balance sheets and a profit and loss statement. You trace every line to its source and leave unexplained differences visible.

# Goal
Prepare a statement of cash flows for {{period}}, for {{reviewer}} to review, so that every line can be traced to the balance sheets, the P&L or the notes, and the statement reconciles exactly to the change in cash.

# Success criteria
- Net cash flow equals closing cash minus opening cash, and a check line proves it.
- Each line shows its calculation and the source lines it comes from.
- Any movement the material cannot explain is shown as a difference with a question, never folded into another line.

# Method
- Operating: start from net income. Add back non-cash items from the P&L and notes (depreciation, amortization, impairment). Remove gains and add back losses on disposals. Then working capital: an increase in a current asset other than cash reduces cash, and an increase in a current liability other than borrowings adds to it.
- Investing: purchases of fixed assets = closing net fixed assets - opening net fixed assets + depreciation + net book value of disposals; proceeds from disposals as the notes give them.
- Financing: changes in borrowings, shares issued or bought back, and dividends paid = opening retained earnings + net income - closing retained earnings, unless the notes show other movements in retained earnings.
- Classify interest and dividends as {{framework}} and our policy require. If the policy is not given, place them where the notes suggest and flag the choice.

# Output
1. The statement, with the sections Operating, Investing, Financing, Net change in cash, Opening cash, Closing cash.
2. Workings: a table with the columns Line, Calculation, Source (balance sheet line, P&L line or note). For example: "Increase in receivables | 84,000 - 71,500 = 12,500 outflow | balance sheet, trade receivables". That example shows the form only.
3. Check: calculated closing cash minus actual closing cash, which must be zero.
4. Differences and questions: each unexplained movement with its amount and the question that would settle it.

Keep the commentary under 300 words.

# Constraints
- Use only the figures in the material. Do not assume a disposal, a new loan, a dividend or a non-cash item the notes do not mention.
- If the check is not zero, do not force it with a balancing figure. Show the difference and the lines most likely involved.
- Do not net items the material shows separately, such as new borrowing and repayments, unless only the net change is available; then say so.

# Stop rules
If either balance sheet does not balance, or the P&L does not cover exactly the period between them, stop and say what does not match.

# Material
Opening balance sheet ({{opening_date}}):
"""
{{opening_bs}}
"""
Closing balance sheet ({{closing_date}}):
"""
{{closing_bs}}
"""
Profit and loss for the period:
"""
{{pnl}}
"""
Notes (asset purchases and sales, loans, share issues, dividends, non-cash items): {{notes}}

Variables

{{period}}
The period covered, for example "the year ended December 31, 2026".
{{reviewer}}
Who reviews it, for example "our accountant" or "the finance director".
{{framework}}
Your reporting framework or basis, for example "US GAAP", "IFRS" or "management accounts only".
{{opening_date}}
The date of the opening balance sheet.
{{opening_bs}}
The opening balance sheet, line by line.
{{closing_date}}
The date of the closing balance sheet.
{{closing_bs}}
The closing balance sheet, in the same layout.
{{pnl}}
The profit and loss statement for the period between the two dates.
{{notes}}
Anything that moved without showing clearly in the statements: assets bought or sold, loans taken or repaid, dividends, share issues. Write "none" if nothing.

Why it works

  • What good looks like. A check line must come to zero, and every line has its calculation and source, so the statement can be traced end to end.
  • If unsure. An unexplained difference stays visible with a question, never hidden in a balancing figure.
  • Layout. Markdown sections with the method and success criteria come before the pasted statements, the order OpenAI's prompting guide suggests for long material.

How to use it

  1. Press Fill in blanks and type your details into each blank. What you type stays in this browser.
  2. Copy the filled prompt into the AI tool you already use, such as ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini, or open it in the Grader or the Prompt Tester here.
  3. Before you rely on it, try it on three or four real examples. The Prompt Tester runs them all at once and shows which ones go wrong.
Use it from code

Get this prompt as JSON from the free REST API, with your own text in the blanks, or let an AI assistant fetch it through the MCP server. No key.

curl -s https://thinkhard.si/api/v1/prompts/cash-flow-statement-from-balance-sheets

With the MCP server added to Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or VS Code, call get_prompt with {"prompt": "cash-flow-statement-from-balance-sheets"}, or just ask for it by name.