7 Claude Agents for Budget vs. Actuals

We beat revenue plan. Why did operating profit miss?

Use seven focused Claude roles to work through a monthly Budget vs. Actuals review, from source intake and account mapping to revenue and cost analysis, management commentary and independent checks.

This free FP&A pack by Henry Sheykin / FinModelsLab includes the agent definitions, an editable Excel workbook and a fictional worked example that you can trace back to its source rows.

What you receive

• 7 Claude Code agent files with required inputs, defined outputs, handoffs, checks and instructions for missing data.
• Excel workbook with formulas covering Monthly, YTD, Products, Drivers, Inputs, Mapping and Checks.
• 4-page PDF playbook explaining the workflow, calculation conventions and worked example.
• Fictional budget and actuals CSVs, account and cost-center maps, source controls and driver evidence.
• Python 3 calculation checker, expected control totals and a worked management note.
• START-HERE and workflow instructions, plus a one-page PDF reference.

What the seven agents do

1. Load budget & actuals. Check source versions, closed periods, missing fields and duplicate rows.
2. Map accounts & cost centers. Bring budget and actuals into the same reporting structure using approved mappings.
3. Reconcile & calculate. Tie the detail to source totals and calculate monthly, YTD and product variances.
4. Bridge revenue. Separate volume, mix, price and sales without a comparable base.
5. Explain cost drivers. Split expense changes into activity, rate and spend effects, with evidence gaps kept visible.
6. Write the management note. Turn measured variances into a short explanation and proposed actions, owners and dates.
7. Review independently. Recheck source ties, the operating profit bridge and the evidence behind the commentary.

Follow the worked example

In fictional Alder Works' March 2026 close, revenue is $150,000 versus a $140,000 budget. Operating profit is $31,000 versus $38,000. The $10,000 revenue beat is outweighed by $17,000 of net extra cost, producing a $7,000 profit miss.

The workbook explains the complete movement and reconciles the profit bridge to a $0 residual. Revenue follows the sequence volume, then mix, then price, with new, lost and zero-base sales handled separately. YTD adds the monthly effects. Raw variances, cost favorability and zero-budget percentages are explicitly defined.

How to use the pack

1. Start with the included START-HERE.md guide.
2. Open the Excel workbook with March selected and inspect Monthly, YTD, Products and Checks.
3. Add the included .claude/agents/ files to your Claude Code project and follow the supplied work order. The role files can also be supplied as instructions in a regular Claude chat.
4. Provide your budget and actuals CSVs, approved maps, independent totals and available operating drivers. Review each handoff and the resulting calculations.

Requirements and validation

Use your own Claude access and a spreadsheet tool to open and recalculate the Excel workbook. The agent files exchange CSV analyses and Markdown notes. Updating XLSX from Claude requires a spreadsheet-capable tool or script in the main session. Python 3 is optional for the included independent checker.

The supplied workbook contains three closed fictional months, January to March 2026, in USD. Its reporting grid can be extended by updating the source, driver, coverage and report ranges together.

Excel recalculation and the independent numerical example were checked locally. End-to-end execution of the seven-agent workflow in Claude remains untested.