Prompt library Civil servants, Intermediate, Across government, Analysis
Check a table of figures for inconsistencies
Get a list of totals, percentages, outliers and units in a table that do not look right, so you know what to recalculate.
Last reviewed: . Reviewer: Muhammad Asadullah.
Before you paste anything: replace names, CNIC numbers and other personal details with placeholders and never use classified material. Use only AI tools your department allows.
When to use it
You have a table of figures for a report, summary or presentation and want to catch obvious errors before it goes up the line. The AI can point to figures that look inconsistent. It cannot confirm that any figure is correct.
The prompt
Check the table below for internal consistency. It is from a document prepared by a government office in Pakistan.
What the table shows: [for example district-wise budget releases for one year]
Units: [for example rupees in millions, number of cases]
Table:
[Paste the table, with column headings]
Look for:
1. Row or column totals that do not equal the sum of their parts
2. Percentages that do not match the figures they are based on (or that do not add up to 100 where they should)
3. Figures that are very different from the rest of their row or column
4. Units that change or are mixed within the table
5. Labels or headings that do not match the figures under them
List each issue with its row and column, what you expected and what the table shows. Use only the figures in the table. Do not invent or estimate figures. If you cannot tell whether something is an error, mark it [CHECK]. Do not rewrite the table. End with a reminder that every issue must be recalculated in a spreadsheet, because your arithmetic may also be wrong. Write in [English / Urdu].How to fill it in
- Paste the table as text with its headings, so rows and columns are clear.
- State the units. Many errors come from mixing thousands and millions.
- If the table has a source document, keep it at hand for checking, but paste only the table.
Before you use the result
- Recalculate every flagged figure in a spreadsheet. AI tools often make arithmetic mistakes.
- A clean result does not mean the figures are right. The AI only checks the table against itself, not against the source.
- Correct the figures in your source file, then rebuild the table, so the error is not repeated elsewhere.
See also: hallucination.