ChatGPT prompts for accountants: 12 that make the work easy to check

For this conversation:
- Use only the files and figures I give you. If something you need isn't there, say so instead of assuming.
- Copy amounts exactly as they appear. Don't round unless I ask.
- When you're not sure, say so, and say what would settle it.
- Lead with the answer, then show the working.
- Use US GAAP and US tax terms unless I say otherwise.

Write a short, friendly email to a client asking for the documents below for their [year] return. Plain English, no jargon, under 150 words. List every item as a bullet, exactly as I've written it. Give the deadline of [date] in the first paragraph and again at the end. Don't add items, and don't promise anything about timing or fees.

Items:
- [item]
- [item]

Attached: the trial balances for [last month] and [this month], and the GL detail for [this month]. Explain why [account] moved, using only the GL detail. Cite the date, description and amount of each line you rely on. If the detail doesn't explain the change, say so instead of suggesting a reason.

Attached is a [lease or contract]. Summarize the terms that matter for the accounting: start and end dates, payment amounts and timing, renewal, termination and purchase options, and anything unusual. For each point, give the section or page it comes from. If a term I've listed isn't in the document, write "Not found" rather than leaving it out.

Before you finish, total your table and compare it with the statement: does the opening balance plus deposits, less withdrawals, equal the closing balance? Show all four figures and the result. If it's out, tell me the difference. Don't change any line to make it agree.

[Your question.]

Before you answer, list the assumptions you're making about the facts, numbered. Then answer, and say which assumptions the answer depends on. If any of them might not hold, say what would change.

[Your question.]

Answer briefly, then list the source for each point: the Code section, regulation, IRS publication or accounting standard, with the exact wording you're relying on. Label any statement you can't source as "unsourced". Don't cite anything you aren't sure exists.

For each figure in your summary, tell me where it came from: the file, page and line, or the cell. If a figure is your own calculation, show the calculation.

[The item] is wrong. [What the source actually says, and where.] Correct it using that, change nothing else, and list what you changed.

I don't think that's right: [your reason, with the source]. Check your answer against that source. If you still think you're right, quote the passage that supports you. If not, correct it.

Turn these rough notes into a short review note for the file: what was prepared, what was checked and how, any exceptions still open and who is following them up, and who reviewed it. Use only what's in my notes. Don't add checks I didn't mention.

Notes:
[your notes]

Rewrite my instructions from this conversation as one prompt I can reuse next month. Include the rules we added along the way. Use [square brackets] for anything that changes each month, such as dates, file names and thresholds.