Tool Gate · How it works
How the Spreadsheet Formula & Model Integrity Auditor gate works
How the Spreadsheet Formula & Model Integrity Auditor grades workbook cells on 3 weighted controls behind a structural-fault gate: one #REF! error on Budget!E7 is dispositive — which is how the model scores 92, in the SOUND range, and still reads BROKEN.
How the gate works
This tool grades a workbook's formula cells for hardcodes, inconsistency, volatile links, and structural breaks. Each control is marked from your own evidence and weighted into a 0–100 score — and then the score is run past a gate that can only make the verdict worse.
The 3 weighted controls
| Signal | Weight |
|---|---|
| No hardcoded constants | 40 |
| Consistent formula pattern across the block | 35 |
| No volatile / external dependencies | 25 |
| Total | 100 |
The verdict bands
An error value or broken link on any single cell is dispositive - it forces the whole model to BROKEN no matter how high the integrity score reads. Nine of ten cells can be clean and the average can hit 92; one #REF! still breaks the model, because nothing downstream of a broken cell can be trusted.
In the worked sample it scores 92 out of 100 and still reads BROKEN — Seven of ten formula cells are SOUND and the workbook's overall integrity averages 92 - which would normally read SOUND. But Budget!E7 carries a #REF! error: a structural fault is dispositive, so the gate forces BROKEN regardless of the 92. A number built on a broken cell is already wrong. The one thing to fix first: Budget!E7 - clear the #REF! error first. Nothing downstream of a broken cell can be trusted, however clean the rest of the model scores..
Common questions
Can something score well on the How the Spreadsheet Formula & Model Integrity gate works and still fail?
Yes. The weighted score is run past a worsen-only gate — the Structural fault — that can only make the verdict worse. In the worked sample it scores 92 out of 100 and still reads BROKEN, because seven of ten formula cells are SOUND and the workbook's overall integrity averages 92 - which would normally read SOUND. But Budget!E7 carries a #REF! error: a structural fault is dispositive, so the gate forces BROKEN regardless of the 92. A number built on a broken cell is already wrong.
What is a worsen-only gate?
A dispositive rule that can only lower a verdict, never raise it. One fatal flaw overrides an otherwise-good score, because a single disqualifying gap shouldn't hide behind a high average. The tool also names the one thing to fix first — here, "Budget!E7 - clear the #REF! error first. Nothing downstream of a broken cell can be trusted, however clean the rest of the model scores.".
Audits formulas, not the correctness of your numbers, and never people. It flags what to fix - it doesn't edit or repair your file. Not accounting or audit advice.
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<p style="font:14px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif"><a href="https://redhub.ai/visuals/tool/spreadsheet-formula-model-integrity-auditor">How the Spreadsheet Formula & Model Integrity Auditor gate works</a> — by <a href="https://redhub.ai">RedHub AI</a>, the AI that tells you when to doubt it.</p>Image + link — a static picture for any blog
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<p style="font:14px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif"><a href="https://redhub.ai">RedHub AI</a> — the AI that tells you when to doubt it.</p>
This is how Spreadsheet Formula & Model Integrity Auditor works. More diagrams in the Visual Field Guide.