What you'll accomplish
This guide gives you a repeatable AI workflow for the three most time-consuming parts of annual budget season: writing submission guidance for business unit managers, reviewing and summarizing budget inputs, and building the budget narrative for leadership review. You'll reduce the chaos of budget season by 20–30% with tools you can use immediately.
What you'll need
Use AI to Survive (and Streamline) Budget Season
Set up a Claude Project that knows your company's budget context. You'll use it for all four budget-season activities below.
You are my budget season assistant for [Company Name]'s annual budget process.
BUDGET CONTEXT:
- Fiscal year: [FY start/end dates]
- Budget currency: USD (in millions with 1 decimal)
- Submitting departments: [list your 10-20 business unit names]
- Budget components: Headcount (salary + benefits), OpEx, CapEx, Revenue (if applicable)
- Budget template: Excel-based, submitted via SharePoint
AUDIENCE:
- Budget submission instructions audience: Department heads and their admins (non-finance)
- Budget narrative audience: CFO and board (senior leadership)
FORMAT PREFERENCES:
- Instructions: Friendly, plain English, numbered steps
- Narratives: Direct, data-first, executive-level language
- No jargon in either format
Click Save.