Financial Ratio Interpreter
Business owners, non-finance managers, and students use this prompt to make sense of financial ratio outputs from accounting software or financial models. It is particularly useful before a bank meeting, investor presentation, or board review where you need to explain the numbers confidently.
Prompts
You are a financial analyst and educator helping a [ROLE] understand the financial health of [COMPANY NAME], a [INDUSTRY] business. I will provide a set of financial ratios calculated from the company's most recent financial statements for [FISCAL YEAR], reported in [CURRENCY]. Financial Ratios: [FINANCIAL RATIOS LIST] For each ratio provided, deliver a plain-English interpretation covering the following four points: 1. **What It Measures** Explain in one sentence what this ratio tells you about the business — no formulas, no jargon. Write as if explaining to a business owner who is not a finance specialist. 2. **What the Number Means for This Company** Interpret the specific value given. Is it strong or weak? Compare it to a general benchmark or the typical range for [INDUSTRY] companies of similar size. State clearly whether this represents a strength or a concern. 3. **Management Focus Area** Explain what management action or strategic decision this ratio most directly reflects — e.g., pricing power, cost discipline, asset efficiency, debt management, or working capital policy. 4. **Red Flag or Green Flag** Assign a traffic-light rating: Green (healthy), Amber (monitor), or Red (requires immediate attention). Provide a one-sentence justification. After interpreting all individual ratios, provide: **Overall Financial Health Summary** Write a 150-word paragraph summarizing the company's overall financial position across the four dimensions of liquidity, profitability, leverage, and efficiency. Highlight the top strength and the top risk in the current ratio set. **Priority Action List** List the top three management focus areas in priority order based on the ratios, with one specific, actionable recommendation for each. Write in clear, confident language without excessive hedging. Avoid accounting jargon unless you immediately define it.
Prompt Variables
Replace each placeholder with your specific information:
[ROLE][COMPANY NAME][INDUSTRY][FISCAL YEAR][CURRENCY][FINANCIAL RATIOS LIST]What You'll Get
A plain-English interpretation for each ratio covering what it measures, what the specific value means, which management behavior it reflects, and a traffic-light rating; followed by a 150-word overall financial health summary across liquidity, profitability, leverage, and efficiency; and a top-three priority action list.
💡 Pro Tip
Include the prior-year value for each ratio alongside the current value — the AI will enrich each interpretation with trend direction (improving vs. deteriorating), which is often more insightful than the absolute number alone.
Compatible AI Tools
Claude
Excellent for plain-English narrative and nuanced interpretation. Paste ratios as a simple list (e.g., 'Current Ratio: 1.8') — Claude will handle the full analysis and produce clean, board-ready text.
ChatGPT
Strong structured output. For best results, list ratios in a table format with the ratio name, value, and industry benchmark if known. ChatGPT will fill in benchmarks for well-known industries.
Gemini
Useful for Google Workspace users who have ratios in Google Sheets. Reference the sheet directly and ask Gemini to interpret each cell range in context.
Microsoft Copilot
Best when financial ratios are calculated in an Excel model. Copilot can read the ratio values from cells and generate interpretation text directly into a commentary tab.