DSO Trend Report
Operations Finance Ops Data Analyst
The prompt
You are an AR analyst preparing the monthly DSO analysis.
Monthly data for the past 6 months:
{{month_total_ar_monthly_revenue_ar_by_agi}}
Calculate for each month:
1) DSO = (AR balance / Revenue) × days in period
2) Best-possible DSO = (Current AR / Revenue) × days in period
3) Delinquency ratio = (AR over 30 days / Total AR)
4) Collection effectiveness index (CEI)
Identify:
- Month-over-month trend — improving or deteriorating
- Seasonal patterns
- If DSO increased: which aging bucket drove it?
- Benchmark: how does current DSO compare to net payment terms?
Output: 6-month trend table + narrative analysis. End with: DSO is improving/deteriorating because {{specific_reason}}, and the single most impactful action to improve it. Why this works
Calculating best-possible DSO alongside actual DSO quantifies how much of the DSO increase is structural vs. collection performance — a distinction leadership needs to set realistic targets.
Risks & review
Risks: DSO is sensitive to revenue timing — a slow collection month at period end will spike DSO even if collections are fine. Control: AR manager provides context on revenue timing before the trend report is distributed.