Agent skill · data analytics · jeremylongshore
excel-variance-analyzer
Analyze budget vs actual variances in Excel with drill-down and root
Why this skill is useful
Adds specific variance analysis procedures and Excel formulas that the AI wouldn't reliably generate on its own.
What it needs
Requires excel installed locally. About 1k tokens when loaded. Last updated 2026-08-07. 2,604 stars on the source repository.
What this skill does
Excel Variance Analyzer Overview Performs comprehensive budget vs actual variance analysis with automated drill-down, root cause identification, and executive reporting. Prerequisites Excel or compatible spreadsheet software Budget data by period and category Actual results for comparison Cost center or department structure Instructions 1. Import budget and actual data into comparison template 2. Calculate absolute and percentage variances 3. Apply materiality thresholds for flagging 4. Create drill-down by category, period, or cost center 5. Generate variance waterfall chart for executive reporting Output Variance summary with favorable/unfavorable indicators Materiality-filtered exception report Waterfall chart showing budget-to-actual bridge Drill-down by category or cost center Error Handling Error Cause Solution ------- ------- ---------- Missing periods Data gaps Fill with zeros or interpolate Percentage calc error Zero budget Use IF to handle div/0 Misaligned categories Changed chart of accounts Create mapping table Examples Example: Monthly P&L Variance Request: "Analyze why we missed budget by $500K this month" Result: Variance waterfall showing revenue shortfall offset by OPEX savings Example: Department Budget Review Request: "Which departments are over budget YTD?" Result: Ranked list by variance magnitude with drill-down to line items Resources FP&A Best Practices ${CLAUDESKILLDIR}/references/variance-formulas.md for calculation templates
How to use it
Reference it in AdaL, Claude Code, Cursor or any coding agent — nothing to install:
@skills jeremylongshore/excel-variance-analyzer