Executive Assistant Skills Lab

Skill 01

Inbox management

Classify messages, identify deadlines, draft replies, and escalate emergencies. For each message, choose an action and write a concise professional response.

8 simulated emails · No real residents

Success criteria

Recognize urgent safety issues; avoid making unauthorized financial commitments; schedule follow-ups; keep messages factual and courteous.

Recommended evidence: action register, two drafted replies, and a 5-line executive inbox summary.

Inbox action register

Received / sender	Message	Priority	Next action

Draft a response to the vendor requesting paymentExecutive summary: top priorities and deadlines

Classify all eight messages before checking.

Skill 02

Invoice reconciliations

Compare a fictional invoice register against approved purchase orders and receiving records. Flag mismatches and prepare an exception log for the property manager.

Control principle

Do not approve payments or alter source invoices. Verify PO, invoice, and receiving evidence; route discrepancies to an authorized approver.

Review six vendor invoices

Invoice	Vendor	PO approved	Invoice billed	Received value	Your disposition

Exception log and recommended follow-up

Review every invoice before checking.

Skill 03

Budget support

Analyze monthly actuals against approved budgets across four fictional properties. Calculate dollar and percentage variances and identify items requiring management attention.

Excel practice

Use =Actual-Budget and =IFERROR((Actual-Budget)/Budget,0). For expenses, a positive variance is generally unfavorable. Never change the approved budget to eliminate a variance.

Monthly expense report

Property / category	Budget	Actual	Variance $	Variance %

Management commentary: three notable variances, causes to investigate, and next steps

Enter your variance calculations before checking.

Skill 04

Weekly executive briefing

Combine the inbox, reconciliation, and budget findings into a concise regional property operations update.

Communication standard

Lead with the bottom line. Separate facts from assumptions, identify owners and due dates, and ask for decisions rather than implying approval.

Weekly executive updateMeeting agenda / action items

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