A review finding that two press figures for yearly card output (3.1bn and 9.2bn) cannot be ruled out by arithmetic alone; rejecting them must rest on their origin

How it’s built

1. Work out the range each year's true figure could take, given that the company's totals are rounded down.
2. Both press figures fall inside a possible range if they were rounded differently.

What we assumed

• The press figures may have been rounded differently from the company's.Press reports rarely say how they round, so the review allows for it.

Sanity check

The 3.2bn and 9.1bn figures from company totals still stand. The 9.2bn traces to a single web page; the 3.1bn is most likely the outlet's own slip.

Where it comes from

Our calculation from other figures in the trainer’s notes.