Payroll Summary Reasonableness Check

Check a payroll summary for reasonableness by comparing periods, explaining changes with known events and flagging odd differences.

Added October 15, 2026. Written with AI assistance and checked for clarity and placeholders; not reviewed by a lawyer, accountant, clinician or other professional. How these prompts are made

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[VERIFY] is an editorial flag, not a blank to fill. Wherever the prompt shows [VERIFY], check that item against a reliable source before you use it (what [VERIFY] means).

Check a payroll summary for reasonableness. Current and previous period totals by department, headcount, overtime hours and new starters or leavers: [PAYROLL_SUMMARY]. Known changes such as rises or bonuses: [KNOWN_CHANGES]. Approval step: [APPROVAL].

Compare periods, explain the changes with known events, flag differences that cannot be explained, and calculate cost per head. Treat employee data as confidential and do not ask for names or bank details.

Return a table with Measure, Previous, Current, Change and Explained? (red, amber, green), and questions for the payroll provider. Payroll rules are [VERIFY] for [JURISDICTION] with a payroll professional.

Also suggest a standard set of ratios to track each period, such as overtime as a share of total hours, so that unusual changes are noticed quickly and consistently.

Then design a recurring payroll review control and an investigation script. Specify the checks to do each period: headcount against the starters and leavers list, total pay against the previous period with explained differences, overtime against approved hours, new bank detail changes verified, and a sample of individual calculations recomputed. Create a variance threshold table so that small differences are noted and large ones investigated. Write a script for asking a manager about an unusual figure that is neutral and focused on understanding. Provide a sign-off sheet with two names and a checklist of evidence kept. Add a plan for correcting errors, communicating with the employee respectfully and recording the fix. Remind me to protect confidentiality, restrict access to payroll data and use anonymised summaries when seeking help. Payroll and employment rules are [VERIFY] for [JURISDICTION] with a payroll professional.

Do a second pass on every calculation using a different method, report any difference, and remind me that a sanity check is not an audit and does not replace a professional review.

Conclude with a short note on what to avoid doing in response to this review, such as large rewrites or rushed changes, and the reason for each caution.

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Comparison (invented, anonymised totals)
Headcount: 42 last period, 44 this period; starters 3, leavers 1. Consistent.
Gross pay: 118,400 vs 123,950 (+4.7%). Expected from starters: about +3.1%. Unexplained: 1.6% (about 1,900).
Overtime hours: 310 vs 520. Department with the increase: warehouse (+190). Known cause: seasonal order backlog (manager confirms).
Bank detail changes: 2; both verified by call-back.
Cost per head: 2,819 vs 2,817.
Questions for the provider: is a one-off payment code appearing twice, and which employees account for the 1.6% difference? Sign-off: two names recorded with the date. Keep names out of shared copies. Payroll rules are [VERIFY] for [JURISDICTION].

• audit