Independent Excel Workbook Review
Every spreadsheet tells a story. We examine the evidence behind the numbers.
Spreadsheet Forensics Group helps internal audit, EUC governance, finance, lending, legal, and public-sector teams examine workbook evidence: formulas, hidden sheets, external links, hardcoded values, metadata, and version changes.
We do not assume fraud, error, or misconduct. We identify workbook evidence that may require human review.
Workbook evidence organized for review.
Services
Focused consulting services for organizations that rely on high-stakes Excel workbooks and need clear, evidence-based review.
Review one workbook or a portfolio of workbooks for formula integrity, hidden sheets, external links, hardcoded values, workbook structure, metadata, Power Query, VBA/macros, protection settings, and review-priority evidence.
Best for
Internal audit, finance teams, lenders, and organizations that rely on critical spreadsheets.
Compare workbook versions to identify meaningful changes in formulas, values, sheets, hidden content, external links, metadata, and model structure.
Best for
Disputes, borrower monitoring, internal investigations, restatements, and unexplained workbook changes.
Perform deeper review of high-stakes finance, lending, litigation, valuation, budget, grant reimbursement, board-reporting, and covenant workbooks.
Best for
Models that support major financial, legal, or oversight decisions.
Support organizations with spreadsheet inventory, ownership, documentation, review procedures, change control, and evidence retention.
Best for
Internal audit, finance leadership, and control-conscious organizations.
Use Cases
When a spreadsheet supports a financial decision, legal claim, borrowing certificate, grant reimbursement, board report, audit process, or public-sector oversight function, the workbook itself may need independent review.
EUC governance, control testing, spreadsheet inventory, evidence review, and remediation support.
Workbook review for reporting files, management models, board materials, and decision support.
Review of borrower-submitted workbooks, borrowing base files, covenant models, and collateral schedules.
Workbook comparison, version change analysis, litigation support, and dispute-related spreadsheet review.
Review of grant, reimbursement, budget, procurement, and public-fund workbooks.
Review of forecasts, budget models, operating plans, and critical decision models.
Different clients ask different questions, but the need is the same: clear workbook evidence that can be reviewed, explained, and documented.
Approach
Important spreadsheet issues are not always visible on the surface. The workbook itself may contain evidence of how it was built, changed, linked, protected, and maintained.
Are key outputs driven by formulas, pasted values, or hidden assumptions?
What changed between versions, and did those changes affect key outputs?
Do hidden sheets, external links, or Power Query connections affect the result?
Were formulas replaced by hardcoded values after preparation, review, or submission?
Can the logic be explained to management, auditors, counsel, or investigators?
Which workbook artifacts require human judgment before conclusions are drawn?
We help clients move from uncertainty to structured workbook evidence.
Evidence
Excel workbooks can contain evidence of how they were built, changed, linked, protected, and maintained. Formulas, hidden sheets, external links, named ranges, metadata, protection settings, Power Query connections, VBA artifacts, and version differences can all help explain what happened inside a workbook.
Our role is not to jump to conclusions. We organize workbook evidence so reviewers can ask better questions, focus attention where it matters, and document items that require follow-up.
Signals we look for
Formula patterns
Repeated formulas, pattern breaks, and unusual formula changes.
Calculation evidence
Formula records, calculation chain evidence, and recalculation-related workbook artifacts.
Broken references
#REF!, #VALUE!, #NAME?, and orphaned references.
Hidden and very hidden sheets
Workbook logic or source data kept out of normal view.
Custom and external functions
AI add-ins, workbook-defined names, VBA functions, or nonstandard formula dependencies.
Hardcoded values
Numbers typed over formulas or embedded directly into formulas.
External links and queries
Power Query, workbook links, data connections, and external dependencies.
Metadata and version changes
Authors, revisions, timestamps, workbook structure, and comparison evidence.
Deliverables
Every engagement produces a clear, structured record of what was examined, what evidence was identified, and what should be reviewed next.
A concise, decision-ready overview written for management, counsel, audit, or oversight readers.
A structured inventory of formulas, links, hidden content, metadata, dependencies, and other workbook artifacts examined.
Evidence-based review items organized by significance, with context on what may require human follow-up.
Notes on formula patterns, hardcoded values, broken references, external links, hidden dependencies, and unusual workbook structure.
When versions are in scope, a summary of meaningful changes across formulas, values, sheets, metadata, and structure.
Recommended next steps for verification, remediation, explanation, or further inquiry.
A walkthrough of the analysis for management, counsel, internal audit, finance, or review teams.
Why Us
Spreadsheet Forensics Group combines finance PhD-level model judgment, practical EUC field experience, and technical workbook evidence analysis. Our work is designed for clients who need more than a software scan: structured evidence, professional interpretation, and clear review priorities.
Understanding models, incentives, financial statements, valuation, lending, and decision-making context.
Practical knowledge of spreadsheet controls, governance, ownership, documentation, review processes, and audit expectations.
Review of formulas, links, hidden content, metadata, dependencies, structure, and version changes.
Evidence-based reporting that avoids unsupported claims about fraud, error, misconduct, or noncompliance.
Independent analysis and professional judgment, not a SaaS upload-and-score tool.
Process
Each engagement follows the same four steps, designed for workbook review rather than generic consulting deliverables.
We define the workbook population, business context, review questions, and intended use of the analysis.
We examine workbook structure, formulas, dependencies, metadata, hidden content, version changes, and other review artifacts.
We organize the evidence and identify items that require human judgment, follow-up, or explanation.
We deliver a structured summary, supporting evidence, and recommended next steps for management, counsel, auditors, or investigators.
Trust & Confidentiality
We do not assume fraud, error, or misconduct. Our role is to identify and organize workbook evidence so clients can make informed decisions.
Our work is designed to support professional review, not replace management, audit, legal, or investigative judgment.
Because workbooks often contain sensitive financial, legal, operational, or public-sector information, confidential files should not be sent through a public contact form. Secure transfer can be arranged after an initial consultation.
We document workbook artifacts, patterns, and changes without overstating what they mean.
We identify items that require judgment, follow-up, or explanation.
We arrange secure file transfer only after the engagement scope is understood.
Contact
Tell us what kind of workbook you need reviewed, compared, or explained. Please do not include confidential data in this form.
A dedicated contact address at spreadsheetforensicsgroup.com will be available shortly.