Audit an Excel workbook for broken, inconsistent, and hard-coded formulas
Checks your spreadsheet for formula errors, broken references, inconsistent formulas across rows, and hard-coded numbers that should be formulas.
The prompt
Audit my Excel workbook for formula errors before I rely on it or send it on.
What the workbook does: [e.g. "monthly commission calculation", "pricing model", "headcount budget"]
Formulas: [PASTE them - press Ctrl+` (Show Formulas) and copy the key ranges, or list cell + formula for the important ones. Values alone are not enough]
Sample values: [PASTE the same ranges as values so results can be checked]
Known totals or results it should match: [e.g. "total payroll should equal $1.24M from the HR system"]
Check for:
1. Broken formulas: #REF!, #N/A, #VALUE!, #DIV/0!, errors hidden by IFERROR, and links to other files that may be broken or out of date.
2. Inconsistent formulas: a row or column where one cell's formula differs from its neighbors, ranges that stop short of the last row, totals that miss new rows.
3. Hard-coded values: numbers typed over formulas, constants buried inside formulas (rates, FX, headcount), and manual adjustments with no note. Say which should become an input cell.
4. Reference errors: wrong absolute/relative references ($), formulas pointing at the wrong sheet or period, double counting, circular references.
5. Logic errors: wrong function (SUM vs. SUMIF), lookups on unsorted data, averages of averages, mismatched units or signs.
6. Structure risks: hidden rows, sheets, or columns, merged cells in data, no separation of inputs and calculations.
Return:
- A findings table: Cell/range | Issue | Severity (critical / important / minor) | Impact on results | Fix.
- The corrected formula for each critical issue.
- Excel's own tools to confirm each finding (Trace Precedents, Error Checking, Go To Special > Constants, Inquire if available).
- A short list of controls to add (check totals, input colors, a change log).
Only report problems you can see in what I pasted; list what you could not check.
Highlighted [brackets] are blanks to replace with your own details.
Fill in the blanks and use this promptMore Data & Analysis prompts
What to fill in
- PASTE the same ranges as values so results can be checked
- e.g. "total payroll should equal $1.24M from the HR system"
How this prompt is built
This prompt follows the Few-Shot structure (Few-shot prompting). A few-shot prompt includes one or more worked examples of the input and the output you want, so the model can copy the pattern instead of guessing it.
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