Approve Financial Model Versions

01 / CONTEXT

Define the control decision

A filename alone cannot prove that the correct model remains unchanged. A compact release record should link the baseline to its planning period, scenario, currency, approval date, checksum, path and reviewer.

02 / PROCEDURE

Run the control sequence

1. 01

   Assign a version ID and record the approved filename.

2. 02

   Record planning period, scenario, currency and approval date.

3. 03

   Capture file size and an approved cryptographic checksum.

4. 04

   Keep the approval record outside the protected model folder.

5. 05

   Repeat comparison after transfer, restore or authorized change.

03 / EVIDENCE

Preserve proof without personal data

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.

04 / BOUNDARY

State what the control cannot prove

Version evidence detects file differences; it does not prove formula accuracy, assumption quality, accounting compliance, forecast reliability or approval authority.

Validate the exact Windows account, spreadsheet application, linked-data workflow, storage path and current product release. If encryption, formula validation, assumption approval, immutable history, identity governance or regulated retention are required, select systems designed for those jobs rather than broadening a desktop restriction claim.

05 / SOURCES

Primary references

• Microsoft Support: Protect a workbook
• NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5

References support specific controls and do not imply endorsement.