Variance Commentary
- 1 installs
- 34k repo stars
- Updated August 4, 2026
- anthropics/financial-services
Variance-commentary is a Claude skill that writes flux commentary for P&L and balance-sheet lines over a materiality threshold for the month-end close.
About
Variance-commentary writes flux commentary for P&L and balance-sheet lines that exceed a materiality threshold, comparing current period against prior period and budget. A finance team invokes it during month-end close to explain each movement from the underlying activity rather than restating the number. It outputs a commentary table plus a short narrative of the biggest movers.
- Writes flux commentary for P&L and balance-sheet lines over a materiality threshold
- Compares current vs prior period and vs budget, explaining the driver from underlying activity
- Outputs a commentary table plus a short narrative of the period's biggest movers
Variance Commentary by the numbers
- 1 all-time installs (skills.sh)
- Ranked #909 of 1,106 Finance & Trading skills by installs in the Skillselion catalog
- Data as of Aug 5, 2026 (Skillselion catalog sync)
variance-commentary capabilities & compatibility
- Capabilities
- unit economics · value creation plan
- Use cases
- data analysis
What variance-commentary says it does
Write flux commentary for every P&L and balance-sheet line over threshold — current vs prior period and vs budget
A driver explains *why*, not *what*
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| Installs | 1 |
|---|---|
| repo stars | ★ 34k |
| Last updated | August 4, 2026 |
| Repository | anthropics/financial-services ↗ |
What it does
Write flux commentary for material P&L and balance-sheet lines for the month-end close package and management reporting.
Who is it for?
Finance and FP&A teams producing month-end close and management reporting commentary.
Skip if: Inventing a driver when the data is unclear; it flags for the controller instead.
When should I use this skill?
You are preparing the month-end close package or management reporting and need variance commentary.
What you get
A commentary table for each flagged line plus a 3-5 sentence narrative of the period's biggest movers.
- variance commentary table
- biggest-movers narrative
By the numbers
- default materiality 5% of the line
- 3-5 sentence summary narrative
Files
Variance commentary
Given current-period actuals, prior-period actuals, and budget for the same scope, produce a commentary table.
Threshold
Flag a line for commentary if either is true:
- Absolute variance ≥ the firm's materiality threshold (use the provided value; default 5% of the line or a fixed floor, whichever is greater)
- The line is on the "always comment" list (revenue, headcount cost, cash)
For each flagged line
| Column | Content |
|---|---|
| Line | Account or caption |
| Current / Prior / Budget | The three values |
| Δ vs prior and Δ vs budget | Amount and % |
| Driver | One sentence explaining the movement from underlying activity — not a restatement of the number |
A driver explains why, not what: "Cloud spend up $1.2M on incremental GPU reservations for the May launch" — not "Cloud spend increased $1.2M (18%)."
Sourcing the driver
Look at the activity behind the line (journal-source breakdown, vendor mix, headcount delta, volume × rate) via the internal-gl MCP. If the driver isn't clear from the data, write "driver unclear — flag for controller" rather than inventing one.
Output
The commentary table plus a short narrative (3–5 sentences) summarizing the period's biggest movers.
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When is a line flagged for commentary?
When the absolute variance is at least the materiality threshold, or the line is on the always-comment list (revenue, headcount cost, cash).
What makes a good driver explanation?
A driver explains why a line moved from underlying activity, not what changed, and if unclear it is flagged for the controller.