AI for Financial Analysis and Reporting
What AI is reliable for in finance
AI is reliable for explaining financial concepts, drafting report narratives around numbers you provide, and spotting inconsistencies in text you paste in. It is NOT reliable for doing the actual math on large datasets — always verify calculations independently.
Turning numbers into a narrative
Give ChatGPT your key figures (revenue, costs, growth %) and ask it to write the narrative explanation for a report — this is where AI adds the most value, translating numbers into clear business language.
Red flags to never skip
Never let AI generate the underlying figures themselves for a financial report — only the narrative around numbers you've already verified. Any output claiming to calculate specific totals should be independently checked in a spreadsheet.
Key Takeaways
- AI is strong at narrative explanation, weak at doing the actual math.
- Feed it verified figures and let it write the surrounding business language.
- Never trust AI-generated totals — verify all calculations in a spreadsheet.
- Use AI for clarity and communication, not for computation.
Write a financial narrative from real numbers
Give ChatGPT 3 real figures from your business (or a sample dataset) and ask it to write a 3-sentence narrative explaining the trend, in plain business language.