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8 ready-to-run prompts live on api.secapi.ai/mcp today.
Forensic accounting and insider surveillance for activist, short-thesis, and prosumer analyst workflows.
Forensic accounting workflows: footnote forensics, insider/13F divergence, and cash-flow stress.
Run any prompt by pasting it into Claude Desktop, Claude Code, or Cursor with the SEC API MCP server installed. Or use the CLI: 
secapi agents prompts read sophisticated-investor-equity-comp-burn-rate
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Headline workflow

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1. Equity comp burn-rate forensics

Walk equity comp grants vs cash flow vs shares outstanding to surface dilution-via-comp risk. Category: Equity comp forensics · Difficulty: advanced · Prompt id: sophisticated-investor-equity-comp-burn-rate Prompt 
For a high-growth issuer with heavy equity-comp use (e.g., SNOW), pull the latest named-executive comp, the trailing 5 years of cash flow statements (focus on share-based compensation), the income statement (for share-based-comp expense line), and the relevant XBRL fact (ShareBasedCompensation tag). Compute equity-comp burn rate as a fraction of revenue and as shares-issued-as-comp / shares-outstanding. Output a forensic memo.
Expected tool chain
  1. comp.list — Named-executive comp baseline
  2. companies.cash_flow_statements — 5-year share-based comp cash flow line
  3. facts.get — ShareBasedCompensation XBRL fact
  4. companies.income_statements — Revenue context for burn rate
Expected output: Forensic memo + burn-rate table (% revenue, % shares-out).

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All workflows

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2. Debt covenant headroom check

Pull debt-covenant footnote + balance sheet to estimate covenant headroom. Category: Credit forensics · Difficulty: advanced · Prompt id: sophisticated-investor-debt-covenant-headroom Prompt 
For a leveraged issuer (e.g., HTZ), pull the debt-covenant footnote (intelligence.footnotes topic=debt_covenant), the latest balance sheet (focus on debt + cash), and the latest ratios (leverage, interest coverage). Cross-reference with the MD&A (Item 7) for any covenant-relief or amendment language. Output a covenant headroom estimate (% of trigger) + 3-paragraph risk summary.
Expected tool chain
  1. intelligence.footnotes — Debt-covenant footnote text
  2. companies.balance_sheets — Debt + cash snapshot
  3. companies.ratios — Leverage + interest coverage
  4. sections.get — MD&A covenant amendment language
Expected output: Covenant headroom % + 3-paragraph risk summary.

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3. Stress-test uncertain tax positions

Surface uncertain tax positions and stress-test against income statement. Category: Tax forensics · Difficulty: advanced · Prompt id: sophisticated-investor-tax-position-stress Prompt 
For a multinational (e.g., GOOGL), pull the tax footnote (intelligence.footnotes topic=tax), the deferred-tax-asset XBRL fact, the trailing 3 years of income statement (focus on effective tax rate), and the relevant 10-K MD&A passages. Stress-test scenarios where deferred-tax assets are written down by 25/50/100%. Output a tax forensics memo + scenario impact table.
Expected tool chain
  1. intelligence.footnotes — Tax footnote text
  2. facts.get — DeferredTaxAssetsNet XBRL fact
  3. companies.income_statements — Effective-tax-rate trajectory
  4. sections.get — MD&A tax discussion
Expected output: Tax forensics memo + 25/50/100% write-down scenario table.

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4. Revenue-recognition forensics on growth narratives

Compare deferred revenue + revenue footnote + income statement for revenue-recognition aggression. Category: Revenue forensics · Difficulty: advanced · Prompt id: sophisticated-investor-revenue-recognition-forensics Prompt 
For a high-growth SaaS issuer (e.g., NOW), pull the revenue-recognition footnote (intelligence.footnotes topic=revenue), the deferred-revenue XBRL fact across 5 years, the trailing 5-year income statement, and the MD&A passages. Surface any divergence between billings growth, deferred revenue, and recognized revenue. Output a forensic memo with a billings-vs-revenue ratio table.
Expected tool chain
  1. intelligence.footnotes — Revenue-recognition footnote text
  2. facts.get — DeferredRevenue XBRL fact 5-year
  3. companies.income_statements — 5-year revenue trajectory
  4. sections.get — MD&A revenue discussion
Expected output: Revenue forensic memo + billings-vs-revenue ratio table.

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5. Spot smart-money divergence for thesis validation

Surface 13F filers diverging on a name and cross-reference with insider trades + comp. Category: Smart-money signals · Difficulty: advanced · Prompt id: sophisticated-investor-13f-divergence-thesis Prompt 
For a contested name (e.g., GME), pull the latest 13F snapshot for the top 20 institutional holders, compare quarter-over-quarter, identify the 5 holders making the largest position increases AND the 5 making the largest decreases, then pull insider Form 4 history and comp comparison. Output a divergence memo for short/long thesis validation.
Expected tool chain
  1. owners.get_13f — Top-20 institutional snapshot
  2. owners.compare_13f — Q-over-Q rotation
  3. insiders.list — Insider Form 4 history
  4. comp.compare — Comp comparison for executive alignment
Expected output: Divergence memo + long/short thesis validation table.

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6. Sweep small-cap watchlist for going-concern language

Find substantial-doubt and going-concern language across small caps and estimate runway. Category: Solvency forensics · Difficulty: intermediate · Prompt id: sophisticated-investor-going-concern-sweep Prompt 
For a watchlist of 100 US micro-caps, search 10-K and 10-Q filings for 'going concern' or 'substantial doubt' language. For each match, pull Item 9A (Controls), the latest balance sheet, and the cash flow statement to estimate runway. Output a runway-ranked alert table with one-line risk summary per name.
Expected tool chain
  1. sections.search — Going-concern keyword sweep
  2. sections.get — Item 9A internal-controls text
  3. companies.balance_sheets — Latest balance sheet for runway
  4. companies.cash_flow_statements — Burn-rate context
Expected output: Runway-ranked alert table + 1-line risk summary per name.

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7. Lease-obligation off-balance-sheet forensics

Walk lease footnote + balance sheet + XBRL lease tags to estimate true leverage. Category: Off-balance-sheet · Difficulty: advanced · Prompt id: sophisticated-investor-lease-obligations-forensics Prompt 
For a lease-heavy retailer (e.g., M), pull the lease footnote (intelligence.footnotes topic=lease), the operating-lease-liability XBRL fact, the latest balance sheet, and the cash flow statement. Compute adjusted leverage including capitalized operating leases at 8x rent. Output a lease-adjusted leverage memo + comparison table vs reported leverage.
Expected tool chain
  1. intelligence.footnotes — Lease footnote text
  2. facts.get — OperatingLeaseLiability XBRL fact
  3. companies.balance_sheets — Reported balance sheet
  4. companies.cash_flow_statements — Lease cash flows
Expected output: Lease-adjusted leverage memo + reported-vs-adjusted comparison table.

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8. Segment-disclosure forensics on diversified issuers

Surface segment-aggregation choices and compare to peer disclosure granularity. Category: Segment forensics · Difficulty: advanced · Prompt id: sophisticated-investor-segment-aggregation-forensics Prompt 
For a diversified issuer (e.g., GE), pull the segment-disclosure footnote and segment income statement. Compare segment count and revenue concentration to factor-similar peers. Identify any segment that contributes more than 50% of revenue but less than 30% of segment-level disclosure. Output a segment-aggregation forensic memo.
Expected tool chain
  1. intelligence.footnotes — Segment-disclosure footnote
  2. companies.income_statements — Segmented income
  3. sections.get — Item 8 financial-statement segment narrative
  4. factors.related_stocks — Peer-set comparison
Expected output: Segment-aggregation forensic memo + peer disclosure granularity comparison.

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See also