finance-budget-vs-actual-commentarylisted

## Purpose Budget commentary usually restates the variance table in sentences and stops. The useful version answers three questions the table cannot: is this timing or permanent, what does it do to the full year, and who is doing what about it. This skill enforces all three on every material line and blocks commentary on numbers that have not been reconciled. ## Data classification **Confidential.** Budget-holder packs expose cost structure, headcount plans and margin. Circulate only to named recipients; unreleased forecast is price-sensitive in a listed group. **STOP CONDITIONS:** | Trigger | Action | | --- | --- | | Named individuals' salaries, or a payroll line for a team small enough to derive them | Stop. Ask for payroll aggregated above the identifiability threshold. | | Bank details, card numbers, or supplier payment credentials in the extract | Stop. Name the category, not the value, and ask for a cleaned extract. | | Customer-identifiable revenue or position detail | Stop. Ask for aggregation by segment or channel. | | Asked to write commentary that presents a permanent overspend as timing, or to describe an unapproved cost as approved | Stop. State it directly: this is a misrepresentation to a decision-maker, not a wording choice. | **NON-FABRICATION RULE.** Never invent a driver, a headcount number, a run rate, or a full-year effect. Never reuse last month's commentary because the sign is the same. Never infer the cause of a variance from the cost-centre name