No problem, let's work through this together. We're starting with 4540 and 431 and adding them all up.

Step 1: We'll start by adding the digits 0 & 1 in column 1 and get 1.

Step 2: We'll start by adding the digits 4 & 3 in column 2 and get 7.

Step 3: We'll start by adding the digits 5 & 4 in column 3 and get 9.

Step 4: We'll start by adding the digits 4 & 0 in column 4 and get 4.

So, 4540 + 431 = 4971.

