Spot Financial Outliers

Spot Outlier Values in a Financial Statement

Identifies values in a financial statement that appear materially unusual compared to historical periods, peer line items, or expected financial patterns, and explains why those values may warrant attention.

When to Use

• The file is a financial statement (Income Statement, Balance Sheet, or Cash Flow)
• The data is structured in a table (commonly Excel)
• The user asks to "review", "analyze", "check", or "spot anomalies or outliers"
• The purpose is analytical review, not restatement of results

When NOT to Use

• Building or editing financial models, budgets, or forecasts
• Creating new spreadsheets or adding formulas — route to the xlsx skill
• Audit opinions, compliance reviews, or accounting restatements
• General "summarize this file" requests with no analytical intent

Workflow

1. Locate the file. Check input/ first for uploaded statements. Use Glob with input/**/*.xlsx or similar. If no file is found, ask the user to share one.
2. Read the statement. Use the xlsx skill's reader to extract the data, including all time-based columns (months, quarters, years) and line items.
3. Identify the statement type. Income Statement, Balance Sheet, or Cash Flow — this shapes what "normal" looks like.
4. Apply outlier detection (see principles below). Compute period-over- period variances, ratios, and structural checks with code — never estimate arithmetic.
5. Rank by materiality. Surface only items where the magnitude or percentage change is meaningful. Suppress noise.
6. Write the response. Summary paragraph first, then a short list of flagged items with reasoning and quantified deltas.

Outlier Detection Principles

Flag values that meet one or more of these conditions:

• Large variance from prior periods — sudden increases or decreases inconsistent with trend
• Ratio-based anomalies — expenses disproportionate to revenue; margins deviating significantly from historical norms
• Category inconsistencies — a single line item behaving differently than peer accounts
• Structural red flags — negative values where not typically expected; material swings without offsetting movements elsewhere

Interpretation Rules

• Do not assume accounting errors
• Clearly distinguish:
  • "Potential anomaly"
  • "Likely business-driven change"
  • "Requires additional context"
• Use plain language and explain why something stands out
• Prioritize materiality over noise

Presentation Standards

• Summarize first, then list details
• Reference line item names exactly as shown in the statement
• Quantify the difference when possible (percentage or magnitude)
• Avoid speculative conclusions

Governance

• Supports review and insight, not audit opinions
• No financial advice or compliance judgments
• Final interpretation remains with finance leadership

Example Output Style

• "Marketing spend increased 42% quarter-over-quarter while revenue grew 6%, which is a notable deviation from prior trend."
• "Accounts receivable declined sharply without a corresponding cash increase, which may warrant follow-up."