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Spreadsheet review: finding formula errors in someone else's workbook

For office, finance and operations staff who are asked to check a workbook they didn't build before its figures are used: a budget, a commission sheet, a stock report. Prerequisite: the course on spreadsheet fundamentals for office work (or comfortable with formulas and absolute references). You map how the workbook calculates with Show Formulas, Trace Precedents and Dependents and the Watch Window; work out what causes #DIV/0!, #REF!, #NAME?, #NULL!, #VALUE! and circular references; find silent errors such as inconsistent formulas, totals that omit rows and typed-over values; step through nested formulas with Evaluate Formula; and write a review log the owner can act on. Examples use Excel for Microsoft 365 on Windows; your company's procedure decides who signs off a reviewed workbook.

Level
Intermediate
Length
About 90 minutes
Contents
5 lessons · final exam
Status
Published · updated 10 Oct 2026
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Skills you'll practise

  • Map how a workbook calculates using Show Formulas, Trace Precedents and Trace Dependents and the Watch Window
  • Identify the cause of #DIV/0!, #REF!, #NAME?, #NULL! and #VALUE! errors and circular references, and choose a fix that doesn't hide other problems
  • Find silent errors that show no error value: inconsistent formulas, ranges that omit rows, typed-over values, drifting references and blank cells in averages
  • Step through a nested formula with Evaluate Formula to find the part that produces the wrong result
  • Write a review log that records each finding, its evidence, its effect on the result and the recommended fix

Course outline

  1. 1.Map how the workbook calculatesLesson · 14 min
  2. 2.Identify the cause of error values and circular referencesLesson · 16 min
  3. 3.Find silent errors that show no error valueLesson · 16 min
  4. 4.Step through a nested formula with Evaluate FormulaLesson · 10 min
  5. 5.Write up your reviewLesson · 8 min
  6. 6.Spreadsheet review: finding formula errors in someone else's workbook: knowledge checkKnowledge check · 15 questions
  7. 7.Spreadsheet review: finding formula errors in someone else's workbook: practical exerciseKnowledge check · 1 question
  8. 8.Final exam10 questions · passing it completes the course, so people who already know the material can test out

Sources it draws on

The lessons and questions are written from these references, so learners can go back to the original.

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