Spreadsheets can be useful calculation tools for climate reporting. The control question is whether the team can retrieve the source records, explain changes and identify the review decision for the version being reported.
What a spreadsheet workflow can retain
Excel and Microsoft 365 provide history features. SharePoint and OneDrive version history can preserve earlier file states and identify changes. Excel Show Changes can display supported value and formula edits. Microsoft Purview provides audit records for supported activities. Availability, retention and access depend on the relevant product and configuration.
See Microsoft's version-history overview, Show Changes guidance and Purview overview. Test the actual setup and editing paths your team uses before relying on a particular record.
Three questions to answer for a reporting figure
Which source supports it? Keep the original input record and a reference connecting it to the relevant working. A workbook can contain source links and identifiers. Check that those links remain accessible and identify the retained version when that matters.
What changed and why? Use the available history to inspect earlier states and supported edits. Retain a separate explanation where the reason for a change is not captured automatically. Do not assume that every editing action is visible or that history is retained indefinitely.
Who reviewed this version? Keep a decision that identifies the figure or working, its version, the reviewer, date and outcome. A typed name alone does not establish the decision. The record might come from a configured Microsoft 365 workflow or another review process.
A fictional example
A corrected electricity invoice changes a site's working from 12,000 kWh to 12,500 kWh. Preserve the original and replacement source records, explain their relationship and identify the changed calculation. Then record the review of the revised value before it enters the release copy.
The calculation, version history and review decision serve different purposes. Together they should let another person follow the change without relying on the preparer's memory.
Keep calculation and review connected
You may be able to meet your needs with the spreadsheet and storage tools already in use. Start by checking source access, version retention, reviewer responsibilities and the handover record. A dedicated reporting workflow can help when those links repeatedly break, but its advertised features still need to be tested against your actual requirements.
Avoid treating a small team or a simple calculation as a guarantee of assurance readiness. The required evidence and procedures depend on the reporting circumstances and assurance engagement.
Practical next steps
Use the history and approval checklist to test a disposable workbook with fictional data. Keep a document control register for issued methods and a risk and control matrix for recurring review tasks.
If you need to inspect how Auditably presents prepared climate-reporting figures and their records, open the fictional evidence pack and check product coverage. The sample is an illustration of the workflow, not evidence of a customer's results.
Updated 5 November 2026 to correct earlier blanket statements about spreadsheet history and to distinguish file versions, supported edits and approval decisions. Updated with AI assistance using the linked Microsoft documentation.