{"id":"data2-headcount-reconcile-hris-finance-table","audience":"finance","category":"data","track":"data","technique":"verification","level":"intermediate","title":"Reconcile two headcount reports in a step table","free":false,"task":"Finance reports 205 employees and HR reports 212, and the CFO wants the gap explained. Make one markdown table with columns Step, Change and Running total, starting at the HR number and ending at the Finance number, with the arithmetic in the Change column. Plain text apart from the table, under 70 words, then a last line 'Unexplained:' with the number left over. Only count differences that change the headcount.","materialLabel":"Headcount notes (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"Headcount as of Oct 31 (Ridgeway Software)\n\nHRIS (HR system): 212 people, includes everyone with an active record.\nFinance payroll report: 205 people paid in October.\n\nDifferences found when the two lists were compared:\n- 4 contractors are in the HRIS but are paid through accounts payable, not payroll.\n- 3 new hires have accepted offers and have HRIS records, but they start on Nov 3 and were not paid in October.\n- 1 employee on unpaid leave appears in both the HRIS and the payroll report (shown with $0 pay). Both lists count them, so this is not a difference.\n- 2 employees changed departments in October; both lists count them once.\n\nThe CFO wants to walk from the HRIS number to the payroll number in the fewest steps.","rules":[{"type":"plainText"},{"type":"maxWords","max":70}],"mistakes":[{"title":"Listing every item","why":"The AI adds the unpaid-leave and department-change employees as steps.","fix":"Add: \"Skip items that appear in both lists.\"","checks":["r0"]},{"title":"No arithmetic","why":"The AI lists causes without running totals.","fix":"Add: \"Running total column: 212 - 4 = 208, 208 - 3 = 205.\"","checks":["r1"]},{"title":"No leftover line","why":"The AI never says whether anything is unexplained.","fix":"Add: \"Last line: Unexplained: 0.\"","checks":["r2"]},{"title":"Leaving the format to chance","why":"The AI picks its own length and layout unless told the exact shape.","fix":"Add: \"Plain text, no bold or headings.\"","checks":["plainText"]},{"title":"Trusting the AI to count words","why":"AI is bad at counting. Ask for a total word limit and it often lands over it.","fix":"Cap each part instead, for example \"each line under 15 words.\"","checks":["maxWords"]}],"promptHints":[{"label":"Names the columns","patterns":["step ?\\||running total"]},{"label":"Gives the start and end","patterns":["212","205"]},{"label":"Names the differences","patterns":["contractors?","new hires?","future start"]},{"label":"Skips shared items","patterns":["skip","both lists","not a difference"]},{"label":"Asks for the leftover line","patterns":["unexplained"]}],"hint":"A reconciliation is a short walk: start, each real difference with its arithmetic, end, and what is left over.","mission":"Explain the headcount gap between HR and Finance.","musts":["Table from 212 to 205","Only real differences","Unexplained line"],"rubricLabels":["The table starts at HR's 212 and subtracts the 4 contractors (212 - 4 = 208)","The table then subtracts the 3 new hires who start Nov 3 (208 - 3 = 205), ending at Finance's 205, and does not list the unpaid-leave employee or the 2 department changes as steps","The table has columns Step, Change and Running total, and the last line is 'Unexplained: 0'"]}