Pareto figured this out in 1896. Most most finance pros ignore it.

So, let me tell you this.

Vilfredo Pareto worked out in 1896 that 80% of Italy’s land was owned by 20% of the population.

This same principle can be seen everywhere.

80% of your sales come from 20% of your customers.

80% of your bugs come from 20% of your code.

And, 80% of the answer in any finance analysis comes from 20% of your data.

So when you upload a 14-tab Excel file to ChatGPT (which includes every formula, every unused column and every hidden tab from the 2019 version) you are asking the model to find the 20% on its own.

Sometimes it does. But a lot of the time you have to ask again, and again, and again.

Until ChatGPT outputs it’s worse habit. An answer that looks convincing, but is wrong.

And then you’re unpicking the analysis and wasting even more time that you do not have.

So, today I’m showing you the fastest way to focus AI to improve the quality and accuracy of your results.

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Why ChatGPT hates your 14-tab upload

When you upload an entire workbook, ChatGPT then has to parse merged cells, hidden tabs, and ten years of irrelevant data before it ever gets to the question you asked.

And the more data you have, the more it’s bad habit of making up convincing answers gets worse.

You wanted variance commentary on Q1 marketing spend.

But instead, you got a variance commentary that seems a lot like it was generated from the Q1 marketing spend data, but wasn’t.

And if your instincts are not strong, this is a big risk to your credibility (and your business).

Think of it like this. You don’t hand an analyst a full Google Drive folder and ask “what’s interesting?”

You hand them the cost-centre report, point at the line that changed, and say “tell me why.”

Remember, the quality of your output is a direct function of the quality of your input.

And you must always audit your responses.

For how I use AI to ensure accuracy, you can also read my previous newsletter ‘Steal my AI accuracy method (from 7 years in audit at PwC)’ here.

The screenshot-first rule

A screenshot does three things at once. It gives ChatGPT a better idea of what to ignore (important so it doesn’t hit limits).

It gives the model exactly the same focused view you’d present to a team member.

And it helps you fully formulate what questions you need answered by explaining the screenshot (which is the basis of better prompting anyway).

The end result is a specific output that you can defend. The kind that you can use in a report straight away without having to re-write anything.

Step 1: Upload your workbook

It’s still OK to upload your workbook (ChatGPT will need to use your data for the analysis) the screenshot adds more focus.

Step 2: Screenshot specifics

Open the workbook. Find the range that matters and take a screenshot of just that range.

Make sure to capture the columns as well as this will save you having to explain your column naming conventions in the prompt.
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​Step 3: Paste the image in Thinking Mode

Thinking Mode is super important here, as thinking Mode reasons through the data and surfaces angles you wouldn’t have asked for.

Note – Whether you have extended thinking or pro depends on your ChatGPT plan. Pro thinking modes are limited to the Pro, Business, Enterprise or Edu plans.

Step 4: Ask for ten best analyses

Use this exact prompt:

You’re asking for the menu of angles to begin with, not the final output.
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​Step 5: Pick the strongest angle

Read the ten options. Three or four will be obvious. Two or three will be useless. One or two will be the angle you wouldn’t have thought to run yourself.

Pick that one then ask ChatGPT to do the full analysis on your data.

The whole thing takes five minutes, using the same workbook you’ve been struggling to analyze for weeks.

The Pareto rule is also how I found innovative ways to analyse costs and sales. Like for a supermarket, profitability per square meter. Or software cost by headcount.

The One Thing to Remember

You don’t need a new tool. You just need to stop dumping the whole workbook in and expecting ChatGPT to find what it needs to focus on.

The smartest teams are producing 80% of their results, with 20% of the effort.

So this week, pick the next analysis you’d normally upload a workbook for. But don’t upload the workbook straight away.

Screenshot the range, paste the screenshot and run the five steps.​