User question: What are Rules and Rule Collections, and how do they work together?
FloQast AI Variance Analysis is built on two foundational concepts: Rule Collections and Rules. Understanding the relationship between them will help you set up your analysis efficiently and keep your variance process organized as your team scales.
What is a Rule Collection?
A Rule Collection serves as the container for your variance rules, establishing two primary settings that govern all rules within it:
- Period Type: Defines the comparison interval (e.g., Month, Quarter, Year, Quarter-to-Date, or Year-to-Date).
- Cadence: Determines the automatic run frequency (e.g., Monthly, Quarterly, or Yearly).
For instance, a "Monthly" Rule Collection consolidates your month-over-month rules, while a "Quarterly" collection organizes your quarter-over-quarter rules. This replaces the need for maintaining separate variance reports, providing a streamlined, centralized structure for your analysis.
What is a Rule?
A Rule lives inside a Rule Collection and defines the specific conditions under which a variance is flagged as material. You can think of a rule as a trigger. Each rule has three sections:
- Rule Setup: Defines the rule name, statement type (Income Statement or Balance Sheet), and description. While general settings are established here, workflow assignments are managed within the Outcomes section.
- Conditions: Specifies the data source, materiality thresholds, and filtering logic—including dimension groupings and matching values. This section also configures sign-flipping options such as Statement-Aware and Normal Balance.
- Outcomes: Determines the automated schedule and identifies the designated Preparers and Reviewers, along with their respective due dates.
How do Rule Collections and Rules work together?
Think of it this way: The Rule Collection sets the schedule and period type, and the Rules inside it define what to watch for and when to raise a flag.
All rules in a collection inherit the same cadence and period type from their parent collection. You can have multiple rules inside a single collection, and multiple collections running on different schedules.
Note: You must create a Rule Collection before you can create a Rule. Up Next: Creating a Rule Collection.
If you have additional questions, contact support@floqast.com.
🎓 Ready to learn more? Accelerate your reporting and variance analysis workflow with our interactive FloQademy course: FloQast AI Variance Analysis: Setup, Use, and Best Practices. This course is CPE-eligible through the FloQast AI Variance Analysis & Reporting program.