How to Prompt Workpaper Agent: A 6-Part Framework for Better Workpapers

A good workpaper starts with a good prompt. Tell Workpaper Agent what you want, which sources to use, and what done looks like, and the first draft comes back ready for review. Leave those out and you spend the close correcting it.

This framework gives every prompt the same six parts, so the agent has the context your team already carries in its head.

Prefer to watch? This guide is based on the first session of our customer training series, where David Phan from our Accounting Agent Solutions team builds these prompts live in Workpaper Agent. Watch the recording or view the slides.

Put the effort into the first prompt

You only need a detailed prompt the first time you set up a workflow. Once Workpaper Agent builds the SOP for that workflow, next month's rollforward runs on a one-line prompt. The time you spend on the first prompt pays back every close after it.

The six parts of a strong prompt

Objective. State the task and the period in one sentence: "Prepare the August vs. July flux analysis."
Sources. Name the files and accounts to use: bank statements, brokerage statements, CSVs, ERP exports, specific GL accounts.
Accounting logic. Explain the calculations and tie-outs you expect.
Activity treatment. Say how to handle each type of activity, including anything specific to this client or entity.
Success criteria. Describe the finished workpaper and the checks it should pass.
Never do (optional). Name the accounts or actions to exclude.

Weak vs. strong

Weak:

Do the flux analysis

Strong:

Prepare the August vs July flux for JPM 1111 and the other JPM accounts. Calculate month-over-month and year-over-year percent change using formula-driven cells. Break out interest, fees, and transfers separately. Explain the changes and cite the statements. Never touch JPM 9999.

The strong version covers all six parts in five sentences. It names the period and accounts, tells the agent how to calculate, says how to treat each activity type, defines the finished result, and draws a line around the account that is out of scope.

Example: brokerage reconciliation

For a brokerage reconciliation, the parts that make the biggest difference are sources and success criteria.

Sources: Give the agent the current month's statements plus the last few months' statements, so it can see how your team has handled the account before. Add the GL accounts it should reconcile to.
Success criteria: Spell out the structure you want. For example: one tab with the statement data, one tab for the reconciliation and GL mapping, and one tab for the journal entries.

Example: flux analysis from your ERP

When the data already lives in your ERP, you don't need to upload any files. Name the period and the accounts, and the agent pulls what it needs. If you want a different comparison, say March vs. February instead, send a follow-up prompt and the agent picks up the new period.

When the output misses, get specific, then update the SOP

A prompt can mean one thing to you and another to the agent. Ask for an "exact copy of the PDF statement" and you may get a screenshot, when what you wanted was the statement data laid out cell by cell. A more specific follow-up prompt fixes it.

Then make sure that fix is captured in the SOP. The most common cause of rollforward errors is an SOP that fell out of date: the agent was corrected during one run, the SOP wasn't updated, and the next month repeats the old mistake. Make updating the SOP part of every correction.

Keep review with your team

Every journal entry is a draft with its workpaper attached, and nothing posts without human review. Build that into the workflow:

The preparer sets the workpaper to "in progress" and assigns a reviewer.
The reviewer can comment but not edit, which keeps the preparer and reviewer roles separate.
Use the checklist to link every close task to its workpaper. Checklist items can run on recurring schedules and roll forward automatically, so nothing gets lost between months.

Where not to let the agent decide

Use the "Never do" part whenever a workflow sits next to accounts or entities the agent shouldn't touch. Name them explicitly, the way the strong example excludes JPM 9999. Final approval always stays with a person on your team. The agent prepares the work, and your reviewer signs off on it.

Five habits that make prompts work better

Don't worry about typos. Spelling and grammar errors are fine. The agent handles them.
Steer mid-run. Follow-up prompts can change scope while the agent works, such as "also include the Morgan Stanley accounts."
Treat it like a new intern. Give full context upfront, be patient, and iterate with follow-ups.
Show it history. Prior months' statements and workpapers show the agent how your team has done the work before.
Use the framework everywhere. The same six parts improve prompts in ChatGPT, Claude, and Copilot too.

Keep learning with our customer training series

Prompting is the first topic in an ongoing training series for Truewind customers. Each session is 30 minutes of hands-on teaching from our Accounting Agent Solutions team, followed by 30 minutes of open Q&A. Bring whatever you're working on in your close.

Watch the recording: Best Practices to Prompt Workpaper Agent
View the slides
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