HomeSkillsSkills for FinanceAndrew PershJuly 4, 202610 min read

How We Replaced Finance Busywork with a Claude Fable 5 Department

Five standalone Claude skills, one per finance desk: FP&A, Valuation, Risk and Compliance, Treasury, and Reporting. Download the pack and run the same setup that replaced our finance busywork with a structured Claude workflow.

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How we replaced finance busywork with a Claude Fable 5 department

Last quarter we stopped hiring for parts of our finance function. Not because the work stopped mattering, but because most of it was never the judgment call. It was the assembly: pulling the numbers, reconciling the sources, redrafting the memo the moment an assumption changed. We replaced that busywork with a Claude Fable 5 department: one Claude skill for each of five desks, FP&A, Valuation, Risk and Compliance, Treasury, and Reporting.

This page is the writeup and the download. Five standalone Claude skills, one per desk, each teaching Claude a specific, repeatable finance workflow instead of a vague instruction to analyze something. The variance lands decomposed before the meeting. The valuation range rebuilds itself when an assumption moves, instead of waiting on someone to redo the model by hand. The compliance check flags anything closing in on a breach. The cash position stays current. The board memo arrives as a structured first draft, not a blank page at eleven at night.

Our people still own every decision the skills inform. The skills just remove the hours it used to take to reach the point where a decision was possible. For a broader finance skill set across FP&A, treasury, and reporting, see our CFO guide to Claude.

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The 5 skills behind the Claude Fable 5 finance department

Five desks, five skills. Each one is a standalone SKILL.md file that teaches Claude a named method for one recurring task, not a generic prompt to summarize a spreadsheet. Install the whole department or pull out just the desk you need.

1

Desk 1 of 5 · FP&A

Variance lands before the meeting, not during it

The FP&A desk used to spend the day before every review pulling actuals against budget by hand, then guessing at why a line had moved. This skill decomposes the movement into volume, rate, and mix effects, ranks the three drivers that matter most, and flags anything the data cannot explain instead of inventing a story for it.

variance-analysis-before-the-meeting

Use when: Actuals just closed for the period and a line item needs explaining before the review.

Output: A ranked variance table split into volume, rate, and mix effects, a three-driver summary, and a flagged list of anything unexplained.

Claude prompt

Run a variance analysis on this month's actuals against budget: [paste actuals and budget by line item]. For each line item, calculate the total variance and split it into volume, rate, and mix effects. Rank the three variances with the largest dollar impact and state the driver behind each in one sentence, noting whether it is structural or one-off. Flag any variance you cannot explain from the data provided instead of guessing.
2

Desk 2 of 5 · Valuation

The range rebuilds itself when an assumption moves

A valuation range used to go stale the moment someone challenged an assumption, and rebuilding it by hand cost an afternoon. This skill takes the prior DCF and comparable range, holds every other input constant, recalculates against the one thing that changed, and explains the movement in two sentences instead of a fresh deck of assumptions.

self-updating-valuation-model

Use when: A single input changes on a valuation that already exists: growth, discount rate, or the peer set.

Output: An updated DCF and comparable-company range, a before-and-after comparison, and a short explanation tied to what changed.

Claude prompt

Our prior valuation range for [company] was: [paste prior DCF assumptions, comparable set, and resulting range]. The following input just changed: [state the change]. Hold every other assumption constant, recalculate the DCF and the comparable range with the updated input, and show the new range next to the old one. Explain in two sentences why the range moved and tie it directly to the input that changed.
3

Desk 3 of 5 · Risk & Compliance

Every threshold is checked before someone else checks it

Covenant and policy checks used to live in a spreadsheet nobody opened until quarter end, by which point a breach was already a surprise. This skill checks the current figures against every defined threshold, calculates headroom, and flags anything closing in on a breach before it becomes one.

covenant-and-policy-compliance-monitor

Use when: New financials, a credit agreement, or an internal policy needs a compliance check before sign-off.

Output: A scorecard of every covenant or policy threshold with current value, headroom, and status, plus the one metric closest to breach.

Claude prompt

Check these figures against our covenants and policy thresholds: [paste covenants or policy list with limits] and [paste current financials]. Calculate the current value of each metric, the headroom to its threshold in absolute and percentage terms, and rank from least to most headroom. Flag anything within 15% of its threshold as at risk. Tell me the single metric closest to breach and what would need to change to trigger it.
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4

Desk 4 of 5 · Treasury

The cash position stays current, not two weeks stale

The treasury desk used to rebuild the 13-week cash view by hand every time a receipt slipped or a facility renewed. This skill builds the rolling position period by period, adds undrawn facilities to available liquidity, and flags any period where the cushion gets thin before it turns into a funding conversation.

cash-and-liquidity-position-tracker

Use when: The recurring cash reporting cycle, or before a funding, investment, or debt decision.

Output: A period-by-period cash and liquidity table, a flagged list of tight periods, and a note on the largest single swing.

Claude prompt

Build a 13-week rolling cash position from these figures: [paste opening cash, expected receipts, expected payments, and committed facilities]. Show opening balance, inflows, outflows, closing balance, and total available liquidity (cash plus undrawn facilities) for each week. Flag any week where available liquidity drops below $[X]. Identify the single largest inflow or outflow in the period and name its source.
5

Desk 5 of 5 · Reporting

The board memo arrives as a first draft, not a blank page

Whatever the other four desks produce, a variance result, an updated range, a compliance scorecard, a cash position, still has to reach a decision-maker in writing. This skill turns that output into a one-page memo with the recommendation on the first line, so what lands is a draft worth editing, not a blank document at eleven at night.

board-memo-first-draft

Use when: Analysis from another desk is finished and needs to become a memo, board paper, or committee note.

Output: A one-page memo with the recommendation first, a situation and analysis section, a risk section, and a clear ask.

Claude prompt

Turn this analysis into a one-page board memo: [paste the finished variance analysis, valuation update, compliance scorecard, or cash position]. Lead with the recommendation in the first sentence. Structure the memo: situation, supporting analysis, risk or caveat, and the ask. Mark clearly which figures are confirmed and which are estimates. Keep it to one page in plain, direct sentences.
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Setup Guide

  1. Step 1

    Download the pack and open Settings

    Download all 5 skills (.zip)

    Download and unzip the pack so each finance desk remains in its own folder with its SKILL.md file. In Claude, open your profile menu and select Settings.

    Claude profile menu with Settings highlighted
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  2. Step 2

    Open Skills and start an upload

    In Settings, select Skills under Customize. Open Add and choose Upload a skill.

    Claude Skills settings with Add and Upload a skill highlighted
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  3. Step 3

    Upload one skill file

    Open one extracted desk folder and drag its SKILL.md file into the upload window, or use the file picker. Repeat for each finance skill you want to add.

    A SKILL.md file being dragged into Claude's skill upload window
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  4. Step 4

    Confirm the skill was added

    Return to the Skills list and confirm that the uploaded skill appears. Select its name to open it.

    Claude Skills list with the uploaded CIM Drafting skill highlighted
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  5. Step 5

    Review and turn on the skill

    Review the skill's name, description, and instructions, then confirm its switch is on. Sharing the skill is optional.

    CIM Drafting skill details with the enabled toggle highlighted
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Try a skill

Tell Claude which finance skill to use and provide the relevant files or context. Review every output before sharing it.

  • "Use the variance-analysis-before-the-meeting skill on this month's actuals versus budget for marketing and COGS."
  • "Use the self-updating-valuation-model skill now that the growth assumption changed from 8% to 6%."
  • "Use the covenant-and-policy-compliance-monitor skill to check this quarter's figures against our four covenants."
  • "Use the board-memo-first-draft skill to turn this valuation update into a one-page memo."

How to choose a desk

Match your immediate question to the desk that answers it. For the fuller finance analysis backbone this department sits inside, see our six-stage finance operating system and the 18 institutional-grade Claude skills for finance.

Your question
Desk to use
Why did this line move against budget?
Variance Analysis
An assumption just changed on a live valuation
Self-Updating Valuation
Check we are not close to breaching a covenant
Compliance Monitor
Is the cash position still safe this quarter?
Liquidity Tracker
Turn finished analysis into something the board reads
Board Memo First Draft

The quality bar

Every skill is designed to hold output to the standard a senior finance reviewer would apply before it leaves the desk.

Every driver traced to volume, rate, or mix
No line item explained by guesswork
Every valuation change tied to the input that moved
Every threshold checked, not just the obvious ones
Headroom stated in absolute and percentage terms
Liquidity checked against undrawn facilities, not just cash on hand
Recommendation stated on the first line of every memo
Confirmed figures marked apart from estimates
No invented numbers, ever
Built for the reviewer, not just the analyst

Frequently asked questions

What is the Claude Fable 5 finance department pack?

It is five standalone Claude skills, one for each desk of a lean finance function: FP&A, Valuation, Risk and Compliance, Treasury, and Reporting. Each skill is a single markdown file that teaches Claude a repeatable method for one recurring piece of finance busywork, instead of a generic instruction to summarize or analyze.

How do I install these Claude skills?

Download and unzip the pack, then open Settings in Claude, select Skills under Customize, choose Add and Upload a skill, and upload one SKILL.md file at a time. The five-step setup guide below shows the full flow.

Can I install all five skills in Claude?

Yes. Upload each SKILL.md file through Claude's Skills settings and keep the skills you want enabled. Name the relevant skill in each prompt, and pass the output of one desk into the next when you want a connected finance workflow.

Does this replace a finance team?

No. The skills replace the assembly work: pulling numbers, reconciling sources, redrafting a memo when an assumption changes. The judgment, the sign-off, and the relationship with stakeholders stay with the team. The skills exist so people spend their time on the decision, not on the road to the decision.

How does this connect to Oria?

These skills provide the repeatable finance workflows. Oria Claude Academy teaches professionals how to use Claude with stronger context, review standards, and operating habits so the analysis remains useful, accurate, and ready for a senior finance review.