Open finance skill
Cost rationalization review
Which non-headcount SG&A costs deserve a keep, renegotiate, consolidate, or stop decision?
Combine recurring spend, utilization evidence, contract terms, redundancy, and operating dependency into a decision queue.
Inputs
- ✓SG&A transactions
- ✓Contracts and renewals
- ✓Owner and usage evidence
Outputs
- ✓Savings candidates
- ✓Annualized opportunity
- ✓Implementation risks
Checks performed
- ✓Recurring spend
- ✓Redundancy
- ✓Contract and delivery risk
Guided synthetic example
See the check from input to decision
A business has multiple recurring SG&A vendors with uncertain ownership and overlapping services.
This is the operating model we use at Level. The percentages are estimated shares of the work in a typical review. Actual effort varies with data quality, complexity, and the issue found.
Start with the source records
About 15% of work| Vendor | Annualized spend | Usage evidence | Renewal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Example Data | $24,000 | Low | Sep 30 |
| Sample Reports | $18,000 | Unknown | Monthly |
| Demo Compliance | $12,000 | Confirmed | Dec 1 |
Run the deterministic check
About 20% of workCombine recurring spend, utilization, renewal terms, redundancy, and operating dependency. Exclude headcount.
Surface the flagged result
About 10% of workNeeds review
$42,000 of annualized non-headcount spend requires owner review; none is classified as confirmed savings yet.
Use recorded finance judgment to analyze possible reasons
About 25% of workAt Level, we record the review logic, known explanations, and questions our finance professionals use in this situation. AI applies that documented human judgment to organize the most plausible reasons, without pretending it knows which reason is true.
Possible reasons to investigate
Low or unknown usage is not proof that a service is unnecessary. Contract, control, customer, and integration dependencies must be checked.
Make the final human judgment
About 20% of workA Level finance professional validates the source evidence, challenges the AI-assisted analysis, and decides which explanation is supported.
Make the operating decision
About 10% of workAssign an owner and a keep, renegotiate, consolidate, or stop decision before each renewal date.
Use this system
Start with the example, then inspect the structure
- Download the invented input and expected output.
- Replace one field at a time with a safe test value.
- Compare the result with the expected structure.
- Have a finance professional review every exception before acting.
MCP preview
run_synthetic_example {"slug":"cost-rationalization-review"}Human review is part of the system
This check organizes evidence and surfaces exceptions. A person with finance domain expertise still needs to interpret the result, validate the source records, and discuss the operating decision.
Open source does not mean open client data. We publish reusable finance tools, checks, templates, and playbooks. Client records, workpapers, credentials, communications, and private configurations remain confidential.