Budget reforecast bridge for executive decisions

You are reviewing inputs for an FP&A reforecast bridge. Compare the documents below: Actual results, Approved budget, and Revised operational assumptions.

[Paste actual results, including period, currency, entity, revenue, cost of sales, operating expenses, capex, working-capital movements, cash, and operational KPIs]

[Paste approved budget, using the same fields where available]

[Paste revised operational assumptions, including volume, price, headcount, hiring dates, churn, payment terms, inventory, capex, and timing assumptions]

Create a source-control table with these columns: Metric or driver | Actual source and period | Budget source and period | Revised assumption source | Unit and currency | Comparability status | Issue or missing item | Required owner action.

Then provide:
1. A reconciliation checklist for revenue, costs, cash and key drivers.
2. A list of all period, scope, currency, accounting-treatment, and sign-convention differences.
3. A list of assumptions that cannot yet be translated into a financial impact.

Do not calculate a bridge. Do not fill gaps with estimates. If a value is absent, contradictory, or not comparable, write “unresolved” and state exactly what document field, period, or owner is needed. Treat all figures as management-reporting inputs, not financial advice.

Create a reforecast bridge from Actual results and Approved budget to the Revised forecast, using the revised operational assumptions supplied below.

[Paste reconciled actual results]

[Paste reconciled approved budget]

[Paste revised operational assumptions]

[Paste the reporting period, currency, materiality threshold, and whether favourable variances are shown as positive]

Build four separate bridges in this order: Revenue, Operating costs, Closing cash, and Key operational drivers.

For each financial bridge, use this exact table format:
Start point | Driver category | Driver name | Budget amount | Actual-to-date amount | Revised forecast amount | Movement versus budget | Movement versus latest actual run rate, if calculable | Timing or structural | Evidence and calculation note.

Use only these driver categories where relevant: volume, price or mix, timing, foreign exchange, headcount, productivity, supplier cost, discretionary spend, capex, working capital, financing, and other. Split “other” into named drivers when information permits.

After the tables, write:
- A five-bullet executive readout, with the largest movements first.
- The three most important links between operational assumptions and cash.
- A list headed “Unresolved bridge items”.

Reconcile every bridge mathematically. State the start point, end point, and residual for each. If a driver cannot be quantified, show its amount as “unresolved”, exclude it from totals, and explain what is needed to quantify it. Do not invent allocations, run rates, or causal explanations. Treat this as management reporting, not financial advice.

Review the reforecast bridge and operational assumptions below. Produce an executive-level explanation of the movement in revenue, costs, cash and key drivers.

[Paste completed reforecast bridge]

[Paste revised operational assumptions]

[Paste prior forecast commentary or current trading commentary, if available]

Use this exact structure:
1. “What changed”: six bullets, each stating the metric, direction, amount, period, and named driver.
2. “Why it changed”: a table with columns Metric | Financial movement | Operational cause | Evidence from source material | Confidence level (high, medium, low) | What could change the outcome.
3. “Timing versus structural”: classify each material movement as timing, structural, mixed, or unresolved. Explain the classification in one sentence.
4. “Sensitivity items”: list only sensitivities supported by supplied assumptions. For each, show Assumption | Base case | Alternative case, if provided | Affected metric | Direction of impact | Missing quantification.
5. “Management interpretation”: a maximum of 180 words, written for an executive review.

Do not describe correlation as causation unless the supplied material establishes causation. Do not create alternative cases, probabilities, or forecast amounts where none are supplied. Mark conflicting evidence as “unresolved” and quote the conflicting source fields. Treat all content as management reporting, not financial advice.

Draft an executive reforecast memo from the materials below. The memo must explain the movement from Approved budget to Revised forecast and end with decisions needed from the executive team.

[Paste checked revenue, cost, cash and key-driver bridges]

[Paste driver narrative and sensitivity review]

[Paste meeting date, reporting period, company or business-unit name, currency, and materiality threshold]

Write in this exact format:

Subject: Reforecast review, [reporting period]

Purpose: Two sentences stating what the executive team is being asked to review and decide.

1. Headline position
A table with columns Metric | Approved budget | Revised forecast | Variance | Variance % | Primary driver. Include revenue, gross profit or cost of sales where supplied, operating costs, operating profit or loss where supplied, closing cash, and up to three operational KPIs.

2. Bridge summary
Four bullets covering revenue, costs, cash, and key drivers. Each bullet must name the largest quantified movement and its evidence.

3. Risks and unresolved items
A table with columns Item | Effect on forecast | Confidence | Owner | Required clarification before decision.

4. Decisions needed
Number each decision. For every decision, state: Decision requested | Why now | Financial or operational consequence if deferred | Named owner | Decision deadline. Include only decisions supported by the supplied material. If no decision is justified, write “No decision request supported by the current evidence”.

5. Appendix: bridge reconciliation
Show start point, end point, quantified movements, unresolved movements, and residual for revenue, costs and cash.

Use neutral, precise language. Do not present estimates as facts. Do not add recommendations that are not supported by the source material. This is a management-reporting draft, not financial advice.

Act as a quality reviewer for the reforecast bridge and executive memo below.

[Paste final reforecast bridge]

[Paste final executive reforecast memo]

[Paste source-control table, if available]

Test the pack against these checks: arithmetic reconciliation, consistent periods, consistent currency, consistent sign convention, consistent scope, source traceability, distinction between actuals and forecast, distinction between timing and structural movements, complete cash explanation, and clear decision ownership.

Return exactly three sections:

1. Quality-check table
Use columns Check | Pass, fail, or unresolved | Evidence found | Exact correction required | Severity (critical, material, minor).

2. Contradictions and unsupported statements
For each issue, quote the relevant bridge or memo wording, identify the conflicting number or missing source, and provide replacement wording only if the source material supports it.

3. Release decision
Write one of these outcomes: “Ready for executive review”, “Ready subject to listed corrections”, or “Do not release”. Then list the critical corrections in priority order.

Do not silently correct figures. Do not infer missing data. If totals reconcile only because of an unexplained residual, mark the relevant check as fail. Treat this as management-reporting quality control, not financial advice.