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PROJECT LIBRARY

Build something you can talk about.

Use these fictional datasets in Excel, Google Sheets or your preferred tool. Label completed work as a practice project in your portfolio.

FP&A · 45–60 minutes

Budget versus actual

Explain the gap between budget and actual operating profit for a fictional business.

  1. Calculate budget and actual operating profit.
  2. Build a variance bridge, treating higher costs as adverse.
  3. Write a 150-word note with two questions for the business.
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Show worked check

Budget operating profit is £30,000. Actual operating profit is £20,500. The adverse variance is £9,500: revenue −£6,000, cost of sales −£3,000, staff −£2,000 and other operating costs +£1,500. Do not infer causes from totals alone. Ask about volume, pricing, mix and one-off costs.

Treasury · 45–60 minutes

A three-month cash forecast

Build a cash forecast and identify when a fictional business may need funding.

  1. Calculate closing cash each month; carry it forward as the next opening balance.
  2. Find the lowest cash balance and the minimum funding needed to avoid a negative balance.
  3. Recommend one action and explain its limits. Assume no funding or interest in the base forecast.
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Show worked check

Closing cash: January £8,000; February −£5,000; March £1,000. At least £5,000 of additional funding or cash improvement is needed by February month-end to avoid a negative month-end balance. Intra-month timing may mean a larger facility is needed. Earlier collections and re-timed payments need evidence and agreement.

Audit & risk · 30–45 minutes

An invoice controls review

Review a fictional invoice log and turn exceptions into an evidence request.

  1. Flag duplicate invoice references and payments without recorded approval.
  2. Calculate the value requiring duplicate-payment investigation.
  3. Write an evidence request and suggest a preventative control.
Download dataset ↓Brief & worked check ↓
Show worked check

INV101 appears twice: £2,400 is the potentially duplicated amount, not £4,800. INV102 is a £750 payment without recorded approval. These are exceptions for investigation, not proof of loss or fraud. Check source invoices, bank entries and approval records; propose duplicate detection and approval checks before payment.

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