Cost center spend trends
Analyzes monthly spend evolution by cost center over 6 months and detects centers whose spending deviates from their normal pattern.
83/100ยท๐ MonthlyยทIntermediateFinance AnalystController
Spend analysisReportsspendesk_analyze_spendget_cost_centers
๐ฏ Skill purpose
Analyzes monthly spend evolution by cost center over 6 months and detects centers whose spending deviates from their normal pattern.
๐ What it produces
Trend table by cost center with monthly growth, trend indicator, and alerts on detected anomalies.
โก Benefit
Before
Spend trends are only visible at end-of-quarter budget reviews, too late to correct course.
After
Proactive detection of cost center drift, enabling corrective action before the problem escalates.
# Spend trends by cost center
## Purpose
Analyze the month-over-month evolution of spend for each cost center. Identify cost centers whose spend is growing abnormally and those underspending their budget.
## Instructions
### Step 1 โ Retrieve the list of cost centers
```
Call get_cost_centers.
For each cost center: note id, name, code.
Exclude archived centers if the API allows it.
```
### Step 2 โ Analyze spend for the last 6 months
```
For a month-over-month analysis over 6 months:
Call spendesk_analyze_spend with:
- groupBy: costCenter
- period: last 6 complete months (M-6 to M-1)
- granularity: monthly (if available) or make 6 monthly calls
For each month M:
Spend by cost center: [centreId, month, amount, currency]
```
### Step 3 โ Calculate the trends
```
For each cost center with at least 3 months of data:
Growth M vs M-1 = (spend_M - spend_M-1) / spend_M-1 ร 100
6-month trend = simple linear regression (or growth M vs M-6)
Volatility = monthly standard deviation / monthly average (coefficient of variation)
Trend categories:
๐ Strong increase: growth M vs M-1 > +20%
โ๏ธ Moderate increase: growth between +5% and +20%
โก๏ธ Stable: variation between -5% and +5%
โ๏ธ Moderate decrease: decrease between -5% and -20%
๐ Strong decrease: decrease > -20%
```
### Step 4 โ Identify anomalies
```
Anomalies to flag:
๐ด Sudden spike: current month > 3-month average ร 1.5
๐ก Sustained upward trend: 3 consecutive months of growth > +10%
๐ก Notable underspend: current month < 3-month average ร 0.5
โ ๏ธ Reactivated inactive center: no spend for 2+ months, then activity
```
### Step 5 โ Trend report
```
Present:
1. Summary table:
Cost center | M-5 | M-4 | M-3 | M-2 | M-1 | M | Trend | M/M variation
2. Top 5 fastest-growing centers (with % and absolute amount)
3. Top 5 centers with a significant decrease
4. Detected anomalies with explanation and recommended action
5. Overview:
Total spend M vs M-1: Xโฌ (ยฑY%)
Centers increasing: X | Decreasing: X | Stable: X
```
## Points to watch
- Cost centers with no spend for a month don't always appear in the API โ treat them as 0โฌ
- Compare trends to annual budgets when available for context
- Some increases are normal (year-end spike, seasonality)
## Example prompts
- "Which cost centers have the biggest spend increases this quarter?"
- "Show me the spend evolution of each BU over the last 6 months"
- "Are there any cost centers spiraling out of control?"
How to install this skill
/
- 1Download the file
s54-cost-center-spend-trends.mdusing the button above. - 2Place the file in the
.claude/directory of your project (or~/.claude/for a global install).cp s54-cost-center-spend-trends.md .claude/s54-cost-center-spend-trends.md - 3Use in Claude Code โ the skill is automatically discovered. Describe your need in natural language and Claude will apply the skill instructions.
๐ก Make sure the Spendesk MCP is configured in your
.claude/settings.json with the tools spendesk_analyze_spend, get_cost_centers.Similar skills
โ
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