Model Check (beta)

Overview

Model Check is a powerful auditing tool that reviews Excel models to identify formula errors, structural issues, hidden data, brand compliance discrepancies, and more—all with just one click. This feature runs over 50 checks, helping you quickly pinpoint potential issues and offering automated fixes.

Using Model Check

  1. Open the Excel workbook you want to analyze.
  2. Click Model Check on the Macabacus ribbon.
  3. In the task pane, click Analyze Workbook.

Model Check will run a series of checks and display the results in an intuitive interface. You can review flagged issues, choose to fix them, ignore them, or let Model Check handle the corrections.

Key Features:

  • Comprehensive Auditing: Over 50 checks for model integrity.
  • Customizable: Tailor the checks to focus on what’s most important to you.
  • Navigation: Easily locate issues within your workbook.
  • Automated Fixes: Address issues manually or let Macabacus automatically resolve them.

Customization

To customize Model Check, press the gear icon on in the task pane. You can set the severity level of each check:

  • Red indicator - high risk;
  • Yellow indicator - medium risk;
  • Blue indicator - low risk.

Best Practices

Model Check (beta) is primarily designed for intermediate to advanced financial models, such as M&A and LBO models. Users may experience some lag for large models due to the number of processed checks. We’re continuously working to improve performance and are testing on larger models, which may not be the typical use case for this tool. Users can run Model Check and continue working in Excel (in another window) without interruption.

Known Limitations

Unused Numeric Inputs

Will check up to the first 500 observations per worksheet then proceed to the next worksheet or check.

Unused Name Checks
Names whose range exceeds 200 cells are skipped.

"The specified path is not supported"

If you receive an error message that the "sepcificed file path is not supported", that means the file path of your workbook is a URL (your file is saved or backed up to a cloud storage provider like OneDrive or SharePoint). Model Check does not currently uspport URL file paths. However, we do have a workaround available:
  1. Open up your Model Check settings - click the gear icon next to the "Analyze" button in the task pane;
  2. Disable the following 3 checks:
  • Circular References (In Formula Integrity section)
  • Maximum file age in months (In Workbook section)
  • Maximum file size (kb) (In Workbook section)

Availability

  • Plans: Available to Professional and Enterprise users only. (Legacy plans - Modeler & Suite - do not include this feature).
  • Version: Requires Macabacus version 9.7.3 or higher.

Feedback and Development

As a beta feature, Model Check is continuously being refined to improve performance and usability. We encourage users to share feedback, which will help shape the final version of this tool. If you have any feedback or questions, please reach out to us at support@macabacus.com.