Accuracy and Coherence: Reconciling Numbers

Ishaan's dashboard says Weftwise delivered 960 orders worth ₹12,00,000 in March. Dev's finance ledger says 955 orders worth ₹11,92,000. The gap is small, ₹8,000, but until it is explained, Meera trusts neither number. Two of the six quality tests meet here: are the values right (accuracy), and do the sources tell one story (coherence)?

The rule

When two totals disagree, explain every rupee of the gap.

Accuracy checks that each value matches reality. Quick checks catch most problems:

• Range and rule checks: prices above zero, delivery after dispatch, no future dates.
• Completeness: no missing delivery dates for delivered orders, no missing days in the load.
• Spot checks: pick ten random orders and compare them with the shop's admin screen.

Coherence checks that numbers agree: with other systems, with their own parts (Jaipur plus Kolkata must equal the company total), and with past periods (a definition changed halfway through a year breaks the trend).

When two totals disagree, the gap is usually a stack of small, explainable differences. Some are errors, where one side is simply wrong. Others are definition differences, where both are right under different rules. You must know which is which, because errors get fixed while definition differences get agreed and written down.

The shortcut

Build a bridge. Start from one total, add or subtract each difference you can explain, and see whether you land exactly on the other total. Whatever is left is the part you have not explained yet.

The trap is plugging the gap: adding a line called "other adjustments" to make the totals match. An unexplained remainder is a clue, not a rounding problem.

Drills

Answer fast — trust the rule.

Remember

• When two totals disagree, explain every rupee of the gap.
• Build a bridge from one total to the other; label each step as an error or a definition difference.
• Trap: plugging the gap with "other adjustments".