  If the coupling constants in QFT are promoted to functions of space-time, the
dependence of the path integral on these couplings is highly constrained by
conformal symmetry. We begin the present note by showing that this idea leads
to a new proof of Zamolodchikov's theorem. We then review how this simple
observation also leads to a derivation of the a-theorem. We exemplify the
general procedure in some interacting theories in four space-time dimensions.
We concentrate on Banks-Zaks and weakly relevant flows, which can be controlled
by ordinary and conformal perturbation theories, respectively. We compute
explicitly the dependence of the path integral on the coupling constants and
extract the change in the a-anomaly (this agrees with more conventional
computations of the same quantity). We also discuss some general properties of
the sum rule found in arXiv:1107.3987 and study it in several examples.
