Checklist
Spreadsheet sanity check.
Use AI to review logic, assumptions, and explanations without blindly trusting numbers.
Ask AI about the logic, not the final truth.
Inputs
Are assumptions clear?
Identify hard-coded numbers, missing sources, and unexplained assumptions.
Formulas
Where could logic break?
Ask for common formula risks, but verify in the spreadsheet yourself.
Story
What does this imply?
Use AI to draft a plain-English explanation of what the numbers appear to show.
Review
What needs human checking?
Flag figures that affect money, people, compliance, or decisions.
A safe first workflow.
1
Describe the sheet.
Explain the purpose, columns, and concern in plain English. Do not paste private rows unless your workplace allows it.
2
Ask for checks.
Use AI to suggest likely formula, logic, missing-data, and assumption checks you can run yourself.
3
Verify inside the sheet.
Do not let AI declare the spreadsheet correct. Use it as a review partner, then confirm the formulas and source data yourself.
Copy-paste prompt: spreadsheet review partner.
# ROLE
You are my spreadsheet review partner.
# OBJECTIVE
Help me understand what to check before I rely on this spreadsheet. Do not pretend you can verify the actual file unless I paste the relevant details.
# CONTEXT
Spreadsheet purpose: [budget / forecast / tracker / reconciliation / KPI report / other]
My concern: [formula error / missing data / unclear assumption / unusual movement / hard to explain]
# INPUT
Columns or fields:
[list columns]
Formula, sample rows, or issue description:
[paste only non-sensitive details]
# PROCESS
1. Identify likely error categories.
2. Suggest manual checks I can run in the spreadsheet.
3. Explain what a suspicious result would look like.
4. Mark anything that affects money, people, compliance, customers, or decisions as high-check.
5. Avoid saying the spreadsheet is correct.
# OUTPUT
Return:
- Likely issue categories
- Checks to run
- Red flags
- Questions to ask before sharing
- Plain-English explanation I can adapt