cfo

CFO (Chief Financial Officer) Skill

A PhD-grade financial analyst for cloud infrastructure costs, FinOps, and strategic financial planning.

Overview

The CFO skill provides comprehensive financial analysis and strategic guidance for software projects, with a focus on:

• Cloud Cost Monitoring: Track spending across AWS, GCP, Azure, and other providers
• Financial Analysis: Detailed cost breakdowns, trends, and forecasts
• Cost Optimization: Actionable recommendations to reduce expenses
• Revenue Strategy: Monetization models and pricing recommendations
• FinOps Best Practices: Industry-standard financial operations

Quick Start

Invoke the CFO

# Comprehensive analysis
/cfo

# Specific analysis
/cfo analyze our AWS costs

# With billing data
/cfo analyze billing data at ./aws-june-2024.csv

Run Scripts Directly

# Scan codebase for cloud services
python .claude/skills/cfo/scripts/analyze_costs.py --project-root .

# Parse billing export
python .claude/skills/cfo/scripts/parse_bills.py --file billing.csv --provider aws

# Generate forecast
python .claude/skills/cfo/scripts/forecast.py --base-cost 5000 --months 6 --growth-rate 0.10

What's Included

.claude/skills/cfo/
├── skill.md              # Main CFO instructions (PhD-grade analysis)
├── README.md             # This file
├── EXAMPLES.md           # Real-world usage examples
├── references/           # Knowledge base
│   ├── cloud-pricing.md      # AWS, GCP, Azure pricing reference
│   ├── finops-framework.md   # FinOps Foundation best practices
│   ├── cost-categories.md    # Standard cost taxonomy
│   └── revenue-streams.md    # Monetization strategies
└── scripts/              # Deterministic cost calculations
    ├── README.md             # Scripts documentation
    ├── analyze_costs.py      # Codebase cost scanner
    ├── parse_bills.py        # Billing data parser
    └── forecast.py           # Cost forecasting tool

Key Features

1. Code-Based Cost Discovery

Automatically scans your codebase to identify:

• Cloud SDK usage (boto3, google-cloud, azure-sdk, etc.)
• Infrastructure-as-code (Terraform, CloudFormation, Pulumi)
• Third-party service integrations
• Managed service deployments

Supported Providers:

• ✅ AWS (EC2, Lambda, S3, RDS, DynamoDB, etc.)
• ✅ GCP (Compute Engine, Cloud Functions, Cloud Storage, etc.)
• ✅ Azure (VMs, Functions, Blob Storage, etc.)
• ✅ Vercel, Netlify, Heroku
• ✅ Extensible for custom providers

2. Deterministic Cost Analysis

Unlike pure LLM estimation, the CFO skill uses Python scripts for accurate calculations:

• No hallucination: Math-based cost estimates
• Reproducible: Same input = same output
• Auditable: Clear calculation methodology
• Customizable: Adjust estimates for your negotiated rates

3. Comprehensive Reporting

Generate executive-ready reports:

• Executive Summary: High-level metrics and trends
• Detailed Breakdown: By provider, service, environment, team
• Optimization Roadmap: Prioritized by impact/effort/risk
• Financial Forecasts: 6-12 month projections
• Revenue Strategy: Monetization and pricing recommendations

4. FinOps Framework Alignment

Based on FinOps Foundation best practices:

• Inform: Visibility and allocation
• Optimize: Reduce waste and improve efficiency
• Operate: Governance and continuous improvement

5. Revenue Strategy Guidance

PhD-level strategic guidance on:

• Pricing models (usage-based, subscriptions, freemium, etc.)
• Revenue forecasting
• Unit economics (LTV, CAC, margins)
• Cost recovery strategies
• Competitive positioning

Use Cases

1. Project Kickoff

Question: What will this cost to run? Action: /cfo analyze expected cloud costs Output: Baseline cost estimate before launch

2. Cost Spike Investigation

Question: Why did our bill jump? Action: /cfo analyze billing data at ./bill.csv Output: Root cause analysis with remediation

3. Architecture Decisions

Question: Lambda vs ECS - which is cheaper? Action: /cfo compare Lambda vs ECS for our workload Output: Cost comparison with recommendation

4. Quarterly Reviews

Question: How are we tracking financially? Action: /cfo quarterly financial report Output: Executive summary with trends and actions

5. Cost Optimization

Question: How do we cut costs 30%? Action: /cfo find 30% cost reduction opportunities Output: Tiered optimization roadmap

6. Revenue Planning

Question: How should we monetize? Action: /cfo revenue strategy for our API Output: Pricing recommendations and forecasts

7. Pre-Investment

Question: What are our unit economics? Action: /cfo calculate unit economics Output: Cost per user/transaction, margins, LTV

Real-World Examples

See EXAMPLES.md for detailed walkthroughs:

1. Initial project cost assessment
2. Cost spike investigation
3. Architecture decision (Lambda vs ECS)
4. Quarterly financial review
5. Revenue strategy planning
6. 30% cost reduction sprint
7. Pricing change impact analysis
8. Multi-cloud comparison

Integration Options

1. Interactive (Slash Command)

/cfo analyze our infrastructure costs

2. Programmatic (Scripts)

python scripts/analyze_costs.py --project-root . --format json > costs.json

3. CI/CD Pipeline

# .github/workflows/cost-check.yml
- name: Analyze costs
  run: |
    python .claude/skills/cfo/scripts/analyze_costs.py \
      --project-root . \
      --output cost-report.md

4. Pre-commit Hook

# .git/hooks/pre-commit
python .claude/skills/cfo/scripts/analyze_costs.py --project-root .
# Warn if costs increased >10%

Reference Materials

Cloud Pricing (references/cloud-pricing.md)

• AWS, GCP, Azure pricing tables
• Regional variations
• Discount programs (RI, Savings Plans, CUD)
• Quick cost estimation formulas
• Updated: January 2025

FinOps Framework (references/finops-framework.md)

• FinOps lifecycle (Inform → Optimize → Operate)
• Maturity model (Crawl → Walk → Run)
• KPIs and metrics
• Tagging strategies
• Common anti-patterns

Cost Categories (references/cost-categories.md)

• Standard taxonomy (Compute, Storage, Database, etc.)
• Cost allocation models
• Industry benchmarks
• Waste identification

Revenue Streams (references/revenue-streams.md)

• Monetization models (usage, subscription, freemium, etc.)
• Pricing psychology
• Revenue forecasting
• Unit economics
• Real-world examples

Tips for Best Results

1. Use Actual Billing Data

Estimates from code: ±30% accuracy Actual billing data: 100% accuracy

Provide billing exports whenever possible:

/cfo analyze billing data at ./aws-cost-report.csv

2. Be Specific

Vague: /cfo help with costs Specific: /cfo find Lambda optimization opportunities saving >$500/month

3. Regular Reviews

• Weekly: Quick health check
• Monthly: Detailed analysis
• Quarterly: Strategic planning

4. Combine Tools

• Code scan + billing data = complete picture
• Historical trends + forecasts = budget planning
• Cost analysis + revenue strategy = profitability roadmap

5. Act on Recommendations

The CFO skill prioritizes recommendations by:

• Impact: Potential savings
• Effort: Implementation time
• Risk: Business continuity

Start with high-impact, low-effort, low-risk wins.

Customization

Adjust Cost Estimates

Edit scripts/analyze_costs.py:

COST_ESTIMATES = {
    "aws": {
        "lambda": 5,  # Your negotiated rate
        "ec2": {...}
    }
}

Add Cloud Providers

Add patterns to scripts/analyze_costs.py:

CLOUD_PATTERNS = {
    "your_provider": {
        "imports": [r"import your_sdk"],
        "services": {
            "compute": [r"YourSDK\.Instance"]
        }
    }
}

Custom Reports

Modify scripts/analyze_costs.py format_markdown_report() function.

Troubleshooting

"No services found"

• Check if cloud SDKs are actually imported in code
• Verify file extensions are scanned (.py, .js, .ts, etc.)
• Infrastructure might be defined outside codebase (manual entry needed)

"Estimates seem off"

• Verify region (prices vary by region)
• Check for negotiated discounts (update COST_ESTIMATES)
• Consider reserved capacity if using heavily

"Missing provider"

• Add custom provider patterns (see Customization)
• Open issue/PR to add to default patterns

Contributing

Found a bug or want to add a feature?

1. Bug reports: Open an issue with examples
2. Pricing updates: Update references/cloud-pricing.md
3. New providers: Add to scripts/analyze_costs.py
4. New use cases: Add to EXAMPLES.md

License

Part of the Claude Code Project Template.

Credits

• FinOps Framework: FinOps Foundation
• Cloud Pricing Data: AWS, GCP, Azure official docs
• Design Pattern: Based on Anthropic's Skills architecture

Ready to optimize your cloud costs? Try /cfo now!