ANALYST

AI that turns questions into answers you can explain

Q: How is Planful’s Analyst Assistant different from other AI tools for financial analysis?

Most AI tools for financial analysis start cold, with no knowledge of your business, your chart of accounts, or your consolidation logic. Planful’s Analyst Assistant is embedded in your financial data and reads from Planful’s structured foundation, so every answer is grounded in your actual numbers, entities, and planning assumptions. The result is output that’s explainable, auditable, and ready to share with leadership.

Q: Is my financial data secure when using AI for finance and accounting?

Yes. Planful’s Analyst Assistant inherits Planful’s full security and governance controls. User permissions are respected, and every interaction stays within your environment. Planful also holds global certifications, including compliance with the EU AI Act.

Q: What can I actually ask a finance AI analyst?

You can ask the kinds of questions you’d bring to a human analyst, like “What drove the EBITDA variance by department?”, “Summarize quarterly performance versus plan,” or “What trends should I know before we start the Q4 plan?” The Analyst Assistant returns charts, narratives, and structured breakdowns, with the reasoning behind each one. And because it reads from a maintained foundation, it knows a little more each cycle, so as your actuals update and your assumptions refine, the answers get better over time.

Q: How does Planful Analyst explain its answers?

Every answer includes the logic and data behind it, powered by Planful’s patented calculation engine. You can see which accounts, entities, and periods contributed to the result, drill into the drivers, and share outputs like charts and reports directly, so your team can see where each number comes from and feel ready to stand behind it.

An AI financial analyst built for finance teams. Get clear explanations grounded in your data and logic, so your team can understand performance and act with confidence.

See Analyst in action

See what an AI financial analyst built for finance teams looks like when it answers questions, explains variances, and surfaces insights from your data in real time.

No more manual data prep

Analyst handles the lookups, report building, and variance analysis that usually take hours, so your team can focus on decisions instead of preparing data.

Insights with clear explanations

Ask a question and get a clear answer with the chart, narrative, and logic behind it. Explore results, drill into drivers, and share outputs directly from one view.

Numbers you can stand behind

Every answer includes the reasoning behind it, powered by Planful’s patented calculation engine and OpenAI, so your team knows where each number came from and can stand behind it.

Your data stays yours

Analyst inherits Planful’s security and governance controls. User permissions are respected, and your data is never used to train external models.

Context for every stage of your financial cycle

From close to forecast, Analyst explains what changed, why it happened, and what it means, so your team can move forward without the manual work.

Every variance explained before it reaches leadership

Analyst explains the drivers behind variances with clear narratives and visuals, so your team can understand what changed and complete the close with confidence. An AI financial analyst built into your financial close workflow means every variance has an explanation attached before it reaches leadership. Now, the conversation shifts from investigation to sign-off.

Accelerate analysis while your team moves on

Once the books are closed, Analyst surfaces shifts across accounts, entities, and periods with detailed breakdowns that help your team validate results before they reach leadership. Financial analysis that used to take days of manual work, takes minutes, so your finance team focuses on strategy like interpretation and decision-making.

Turn any question into a defensible answer

When leadership asks a question, Analyst turns it into charts, summaries, and narratives grounded in your data, with explanations your team can share and defend. No more scrambling to pull numbers or reconcile conflicting reports. You walk into every board meeting and QBR ready to respond, with the reasoning behind each number close at hand.

Bring context into planning

Analyst surfaces the trends, drivers, and performance changes your team needs before the planning cycle starts. Decisions are grounded in what the business has actually done and your team enters every planning cycle already knowing what the data says.

Secure by DesignAnalyst combines OpenAI’s foundation with Planful’s patented calculation engine, so every output stays governed, explainable, and contained within your environment. Your data is never used to train external models. End-to-end encryption, dimension-level access controls, and global certifications, including the EU AI Act, ensure your team can deploy AI with confidence.

Frequently asked questions

An AI financial analyst uses AI to answer financial questions, explain the drivers behind a variance, and surface performance insights from your data. Planful AI’s Analyst Assistant is built specifically for corporate finance teams, so it works within your existing financial structure, security controls, and chart of accounts rather than starting from a blank context.

How is Planful’s Analyst Assistant different from other AI tools for financial analysis?

Is my financial data secure when using AI for finance and accounting?

What can I actually ask a finance AI analyst?

How does Planful Analyst explain its answers?

An AI financial analyst your team can depend on, every time

See how Analyst explains performance, surfaces what changed, and helps your team act with confidence.

AI that turns questions into answers you can explain

See Analyst in action

No more manual data prep

Insights with clear explanations

Numbers you can stand behind

Your data stays yours

Context for every stage of your financial cycle

Every variance explained before it reaches leadership

Accelerate analysis while your team moves on

Turn any question into a defensible answer

Bring context into planning

Frequently asked questions

What is an AI financial analyst?

How is Planful’s Analyst Assistant different from other AI tools for financial analysis?

Is my financial data secure when using AI for finance and accounting?

What can I actually ask a finance AI analyst?

How does Planful Analyst explain its answers?

An AI financial analyst your team can depend on, every time

Context for every stage of your financial cycle

Every variance explained before it reaches leadership

Accelerate analysis while your team moves on

Turn any question into a defensible answer

Bring context into planning