A figure is only a finding once you can open its cell.
The spreadsheet handler reads values, formulas and sheet structure. A number in a claim can be traced to the cell that produced it, the formula behind it and the file it came from.
LLX-HANDLER-XLS · R2 · 9 formats
Four things a printed sheet cannot show.
Values and formulas
Both the displayed value and the expression behind it are read, so a total can be checked rather than trusted.
Sheet structure
Sheets, named ranges and headers are read as structure: a cell reference stays meaningful outside the file.
Hidden and filtered rows
Rows hidden from a printout are read like any other, and reported as hidden — omissions become visible.
Links to other workbooks
External references are read as references, so a figure that depends on another file is not read as a constant.
The questions figures usually decide.
Where a claimed sum comes from
A total is opened to its cells and its formula, and each input is cited to the file it sits in.
QuantumWhether a rate was applied consistently
The same rate is retrieved across every workbook in the corpus, with divergences listed rather than averaged.
ConsistencyWhat changed between submissions
Two versions of one workbook are compared cell by cell: values, formulas and structure.
Version diffRead in place, in the format it arrived in.
The file is never converted or re-saved. It is read where it lies, and the handler records a SHA-512 of the bytes it read — so a passage cited today can be replayed against the same file years from now.