By name: excel-variance-analysis description: Compare budget vs. actual figures. Identify and explain material variances. metadata: { "openclaw": { "emoji": "delta" } }
Excel Variance Analysis
Use this skill when the user asks about variances between budget and actual, plan vs. forecast, or any two-period comparison.
How to Handle
- Call
rag_searchto retrieve both budget/plan AND actual/forecast data.- You may need two queries: one for budget data, one for actuals.
- Scope to the user's specified period, region, or line items.
- For each line item where both budget and actual are available:
- Calculate variance ($ and %).
- Flag if it exceeds any materiality threshold the user specified (default: >5% or >$50K).
- Present results as a Markdown table: | Line Item | Budget | Actual | Variance ($) | Variance (%) |
- After the table, provide a narrative explaining the material variances.
- Cite BOTH source documents for every figure.
Important
- If you can only find one side (budget but no actuals, or vice versa), tell the user what's missing.
- Ask the user for their materiality threshold if they haven't specified one.
- Do NOT estimate or interpolate missing data. Report only what the documents contain.