R007 — Manual Calculation Mode
Executive Summary
Key Takeaways
- ✓ R007 is a workbook-level check, producing at most one finding per audit, rather than a per-cell check.
- ✓ It fires whenever the workbook's calculation mode is not fully automatic — either manual, or automatic-except-tables.
- ✓ A model in manual calculation mode does not recalculate when its inputs change, so the values on screen may not reflect what the formulas would currently produce.
- ✓ Automatic-except-tables carries a narrower risk, specific to Excel data tables not recalculating automatically.
Purpose¶
R007 checks a single workbook-level setting: whether Excel's calculation mode is set to fully automatic. It is not a per-cell rule — it produces at most one finding for the entire audit, since calculation mode is a property of the workbook, not of any individual cell.
Detection Logic¶
The workbook's calculation mode, as recorded in the file itself, is checked directly. If the mode is fully automatic, R007 does not fire. If the mode is manual, or automatic-except-tables (a distinct Excel setting where standard formulas recalculate automatically but data tables do not), R007 produces one finding naming which of the two non-automatic modes is in effect.
Why It Matters¶
A workbook in manual calculation mode does not recalculate when its inputs change unless the user manually triggers a recalculation. A reader who changes an assumption cell and does not know the workbook is set to manual mode may believe the model has updated when it has not — every downstream formula continues showing the value calculated before the change. Automatic-except-tables carries a narrower version of the same risk, specific to Excel's What-If Data Table feature, which does not recalculate automatically under that setting even though ordinary formulas do.
Evidence Produced¶
A triggered R007 finding's evidence names the workbook's actual calculation-mode setting and a description of the specific risk that setting carries (full staleness risk for manual mode, or a narrower data-table-only risk for automatic-except-tables).
Severity¶
High. Weight 8.5. R007 is not one of the five critical-override rules.
Example¶
Trigger. A workbook's calculation properties are set to manual. R007 fires once for the entire audit, naming the calculation mode and noting that the workbook will not recalculate automatically.
Non-trigger. The same workbook, with calculation mode set to fully automatic. R007 does not fire.
Recommended Remediation¶
Set the workbook's calculation mode to fully automatic (Excel: Formulas → Calculation Options → Automatic) before the model is submitted or relied upon for a decision. If manual mode was set deliberately for performance reasons on a very large model, this should be documented and the model recalculated (F9) immediately before every save that will be reviewed by anyone else.
Related Rules¶
R007 shares the Structural taxonomy category with the other Structural-category rules published in the Rule Reference — see the Rule Taxonomy page for the full category membership.
Related Articles¶
No existing Knowledge Centre technical guide addresses calculation-mode risk specifically as of this writing; this section will be updated with a link in the same edit that publishes one.
Version History¶
No version-specific changes to R007's severity, weight, or category are recorded as of engine version 2.1.0. This section will be updated in the same edit as any future change to the rule's declared attributes.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What does FMAE rule R007 check for?
Whether the workbook's calculation mode is set to fully automatic. It fires once if the mode is manual (nothing recalculates automatically) or automatic-except-tables (everything recalculates except Excel data tables).
Why does manual calculation mode matter?
A workbook in manual calculation mode does not recalculate when its inputs change. A reader looking at the model may be looking at stale values that do not reflect the model's actual current inputs, unless the file happened to be recalculated (Excel's F9) immediately before it was last saved.
Is this a per-cell finding like most other rules?
No. R007 is a workbook-level check — it examines a single setting (the workbook's calculation mode) and produces at most one finding for the entire audit, not one per affected cell.
Related Articles
FMAE Rule Taxonomy
Every rule in the FMAE structural rule pack declares a category attribute at the point it is defined in source — this is not a classification imposed on the rules afterward for documentation purposes, it is the classification the engine itself uses. Six categories cover all 26 rules — Structural (18 rules), Assumptions Governance (1), Integrity Controls (2), Structural Hygiene (1), Aggregation Logic (1), and Model Governance (3). This page publishes that taxonomy as the FMAE equivalent of a control catalog's classification scheme, cross-linked to the Rule Reference page for each member rule.
Finding Data Model & Confidence
Every FMAE finding carries the same fixed structure — which rule triggered it and that rule's identity at the time it ran, its evidence, a narrative explanation, and a confidence label of high, medium, or low. Confidence is a deterministic categorical label derived from how strongly a row's cells agree on a pattern, not a machine-learning probability estimate. Stating this plainly matters, since describing FMAE's confidence as AI-derived or probabilistic would overstate what the engine actually does.