How a findings letter differs from a spreadsheet dump

A sorted extract is a starting point. It is not an account of suspected fraud. Sorting by amount will always produce a “top ten.” Sorting by supplier will always produce a favourite. Neither is a window with a beginning, an end, and a statement of what was not in the file.

A findings letter numbers its claims. “Three beneficiary changes occurred between 11 and 19 May, each below the dual-control line then in force.” That sentence can be agreed or disputed. “See pivot table” cannot. The annex may still hold the table. The letter has to survive a person who will not open the table in the meeting.

We keep a methods note short on purpose. It names the extract, the filters we applied, and the filters we refused to apply because the column was empty. Clients sometimes ask us to delete the empty-column paragraph. We do not. A later advocate will ask the same question, and it is cheaper to have written it once.

If your audience is only the person who already lives in the spreadsheet, you may want a transaction pattern review instead of a letter. That is a legitimate narrower job. It is not a cheaper version of the same document.