PRODUCT FIT / TEST CURRENT RELEASE
Folder Protect for Model Baselines
Evaluate Folder Protect for one bounded job: reducing unauthorized changes to a supported local folder containing an approved financial-model baseline on a tested Windows PC.
01 / FIT
Use one bounded Windows restriction layer
Folder Protect may help restrict access, writing, deletion or visibility for a supported local folder. FP&A teams should consider it only after defining the approved baseline, working-copy route, accountable owner, permitted accounts and separate recovery plan. Use fictional entities and non-operational figures without confidential forecasts, credentials or personal data during evaluation.
The product does not validate formulas, approve assumptions, compare versions, prove accounting compliance, administer identities, create immutable change evidence or replace backup.
02 / PILOT
Test the complete lifecycle
- 01
Confirm the current official release, supported Windows edition and documented protection modes.
- 02
Create a fictional model folder with harmless assumptions and a separately backed-up baseline.
- 03
Test view, write, delete, restart, sign-out, update and authorized recovery behavior.
- 04
Verify analysts can create controlled working copies without changing the baseline.
- 05
Record password ownership, removal, recovery and retest responsibilities.
03 / INTERFACE
Inspect each relevant control
04 / LIMITS
Keep model governance outside the claim
Folder Protect operates at the local Windows file layer. It cannot determine whether formulas, assumptions, linked sources, scenarios, units or outputs are correct or approved. It does not administer spreadsheet users, recover planning-platform accounts, provide model version history, create immutable evidence or guarantee that copies do not exist in email, downloads, collaboration tools, temporary storage or another device.
Test the current product and exact intended path. Observe protection during restart, update, password failure and uninstall. Preserve a separate verified backup before testing and never place confidential forecasts, live company figures, personal data or credentials in screenshots. Spreadsheet protection, planning-platform permissions, named Windows accounts, endpoint management, local folder restrictions and backup are distinct controls.
After adoption, record the computer, Windows account, protected path, software version, protection mode, test date, password owner, recovery evidence and next review. Repeat the pilot after software, spreadsheet, linked-data, planning, storage, permission or role changes. A successful block is evidence only for the tested action and path; it is not proof of model validation, assumption approval, accounting compliance, encryption, secure deletion, regulated retention or business continuity.
A defensible control record identifies the model owner, planning period, scenario, currency, authoritative path, permitted accounts, restriction mode, version ID, approval date, checksum evidence, recovery owner and next review date. It should not contain confidential forecasts, live company figures, credentials or personal data. Use fictional entities and non-operational figures during every technical test.
Recheck the arrangement after changes to Windows, spreadsheet software, linked data, planning workflow, storage, Folder Protect, permissions, service accounts or FP&A roles. Confirm both usability and recovery: an authorized analyst should read the approved baseline, an unauthorized account should not alter it, and the recovery owner should restore a separately held copy without depending on the protected folder. Preserve unexpected behavior before changing controls.
Keep the claim narrow. Local restrictions may reduce accidental writing, deletion or access on a tested Windows path, but they do not encrypt data, establish formula accuracy, approve assumptions, validate forecasts, prove accounting compliance, administer identities, provide version history or replace backup. Escalate those requirements to the spreadsheet, planning and governance systems designed to meet them.
Ask a second analyst to follow the written procedure without verbal help. Record whether that person can identify the approved baseline, create a working copy, recognize the version ID, interpret denied access and find the recovery owner. This usability check reveals ambiguous paths, hidden linked-data dependencies and undocumented knowledge before a spreadsheet, planning, storage or staffing change. Correct the procedure, repeat the test with fictional data and retain only minimal evidence.
05 / SOURCES