---
title: "Check a board figure against its source | Certant"
description: "Ask about a number in the board pack and get the table or export behind it, or a plain statement that the data isn't there."
url: "https://certant.ai/use-cases/analyst-first-chair"
---

For COOs, CFOs and reporting analysts

# Check a board figure against its source

Ask about a number in the board pack and get the table or export behind it, or a plain statement that the data isn't there.

[See it on your documents](https://certant.ai/contact-sales?topic=use-case) [See the analytics builder](https://certant.ai/analytics)

Board pack draft, Q1 2026 · page 6Example

Membership revenue, March quarter: **$1.84m**

Finance export, March quarter · sheet "Revenue" · rows 210 to 216

_The figure in the pack and the export it was built from._

The problem

## The numbers and the story disagree

Board pack week means late nights for the data team, and numbers that do not match the story sitting next to them in the same document.

By the time someone catches the mismatch, the slides are already in the directors' inboxes.

How it works

## From reports to a checked figure

Connect

Certant reads the tables in your reports and the exports you approve. A database connection is available where a connector has been verified for your system.

Report tables Approved exports Verified connectors

Ground

Metric definitions come from your own documents, so "membership revenue" means what your finance team says it means.

Metric definitions Your documents

Ask

Ask a question in plain English and get a chart or table with its source.

Plain English Chart or table Source

The result

## Trace the figure to its export

A board-pack figure and its supporting tableExample

Membership revenue, March quarter · **$1.84m**

Board pack draft, Q1 2026 · page 6

### Supporting table

Finance export, March quarter · sheet "Revenue" · rows 210 to 216

| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Individual renewals | $0.92m |
| Corporate renewals | $0.71m |
| New members | $0.21m |
| **Total** | **$1.84m** |

This total combines three lines. It links to the sheet and rows it was built from, and is marked as a combined figure.

The follow-up

## Ask the next question

In the meeting, the next question is usually a comparison. You ask it in plain English and the answer comes back with its source, or with a statement that the data isn't there.

A follow-up that returns sourced dataExample

"How does that compare with the December quarter?"

Answer

**$1.69m** in the December quarter, so the March quarter is $0.15m higher.

Finance export, December quarter · sheet "Revenue" · rows 204 to 210

A follow-up that finds a gapExample

"What was member churn in the quarter?"

Answer

No matching data. The exports supplied contain no cancellation records, so nothing was estimated.

Gap

Scope

## What setup involves

You supply the reports and exports that feed the board pack, and your finance team confirms the metric definitions. Database connections are added where a connector has been verified.

| Area | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Sources | Tables inside documents, exports you approve, and connectors verified for your system. |
| Combined figures | A total or a joined figure links to the tables it was built from. It isn't traced to a single row. |
| Sign-off | Certant shows the evidence. It doesn't certify a board figure or rewrite the commentary beside it. |

The outcome

## What changes

- The reporting team checks each figure against its source before the pack goes out.
- A director's follow-up question gets an answer in the meeting, with the export it came from.
- When the data isn't there, the answer says so, and nobody presents an estimate as a fact.

Related

## Related use cases

### Regulatory return gaps

Sites and periods missing from the returns you hold.

[See the use case](https://certant.ai/use-cases/regulatory-return-gaps)

### Production report gaps

Plants and periods with no operating report.

[See the use case](https://certant.ai/use-cases/production-report-gaps)

### Payroll agreement checks

Each pay rate beside the minimum in your enterprise agreement.

[See the use case](https://certant.ai/use-cases/payroll-agreement-checks)

[See all use cases](https://certant.ai/use-cases)

## Bring last quarter's board pack

Send us a past board pack and the exports behind it. We'll show you each figure beside its source, and the questions the data can't answer.

[See it on your documents](https://certant.ai/contact-sales?topic=use-case) [See the analytics builder](https://certant.ai/analytics)

Certant Cloud, your cloud, or fully air-gapped.