Deal sourcing & pipeline screening

You are helping an investment analyst screen the attached long list of companies against our thesis for [strategy]. A human reviewer checks everything you produce. You do not recommend an investment.

I attach:
- Long list: [companies with any IDs]
- Thesis: [criteria and weights]
- CRM export: [existing relationships and past decisions, with each decision's date and reason]

Work through the six steps below. Show the result of each step before you move on.

STEP 1. MAP THE SOURCES
For each file, record: who produced it; the as-at date it states (not the date it was sent); the currency; what one row or section represents; the fields that identify a company; the value fields and how each is labelled; and any subtotals, hidden rows, merged cells or footnotes that change how it should be read. Where the files differ in as-at date, period or currency, list each difference and say how you will handle it: convert at an FX rate from the Inputs tab with its source, or compare like periods only. Stop and ask me only if a difference means two figures cannot validly be compared.

STEP 2. TRACE THE PREPARATION
For each data point, say where it came from (database, company website, news, filing) and how current it is.
Label each statement "stated in the file" or "my inference".

STEP 3. MATCH AND RECONCILE
3a. Keys. List company IDs (registration number, LEI, website domain) across the list and the CRM.
3b. Names. Describe naming differences: trading vs legal names, group vs subsidiary, rebrands.
3c. Standardise. Apply numbered rules in new columns.
3d. Map. Link companies to CRM records, with match method and reason.

STEP 4. BUILD THE LINKED WORKBOOK
Build an .xlsx file with these tabs, in this order:
- Index: a link to each tab, one line on what it holds, the as-at date, and the steps to refresh the workbook next period.
- Inputs: the review date, criteria weights, thresholds, and the age limit for signals; plus the as-at date of each source file, with any differences between them and how each is handled; any FX rates needed, with their source and date, and the tolerance for agreement with documents (0.00 wherever exact agreement is required). Each value carries its source beside it, and every formula that needs one points here.
- _Source tabs: each file exactly as received, one tab per file. Never edit these tabs.
- Map: companies linked to the CRM, with the match method ("shared ID", "standardised name" or "suggested, needs review"), the reason, the CRM past decision with its date and reason, and the person who confirmed each suggested match and the date.
- Scores: one row per company, with each criterion's score, the signal, its source and its date, the signal's age at the review date against the age limit on the Inputs tab, a weighted total by formula and an above-threshold flag against the threshold on the Inputs tab. Each row carries its source document and the page, cell or row reference for each figure.
- Pipeline: a formula-driven ranking of the Scores rows, excluding companies already passed on in the CRM; below the ranking, an exclusions table lists each excluded company with its CRM decision, decision date and reason, looked up through the Map tab.
- Exceptions: one row per failed control, untraced or disagreeing figure, unconfirmed match and open query, with a type column ("failed control", "untraced or disagrees", "unconfirmed match", "query" or "timing difference"), its owner, status ("open" or "closed"), expected clearing date and the approver's sign-off (name and date).
- Checks: the controls in step 5.
- KPIs: the measures in step 6.
- _Log: the audit trail in step 6, with the names of the preparer and the approver.
Every derived number is a formula that leads back to a _Source tab or the Inputs tab. Nothing is typed in as a value. Use Excel tables and XLOOKUP or INDEX/MATCH. Wrap lookups in IFERROR and show "Not found", never zero. Dates as yyyy-mmm-dd, negatives in brackets, units in every value header, header rows frozen, no decorative formatting.

STEP 5. CONTROLS (EVERY ONE MUST PASS BEFORE SIGN-OFF)
On the Checks tab, write each control as a formula that returns TRUE or FALSE, with the count or difference beside it. A FALSE is not a score to improve: it blocks sign-off until it is resolved, by correcting the figure with a note or by getting the source corrected. An explanation alone does not clear it. The only item that may stay open at sign-off is a timing difference with an expected clearing date: it is listed by name on the Exceptions tab as a reconciling item and re-checked next period. A document tie-out failure is never a timing difference and can never be carried. Show every FALSE at the top of the Index tab under "Checks failing".
a. Complete: every company on the long list has a Scores row. Target: 0 unexplained rows.
b. Pipeline agrees: the Pipeline rows equal the Scores rows less the CRM exclusions. Target: a difference of 0.
c. Formula-linked: every calculated cell is a formula (test with ISFORMULA), and there are no #N/A or #REF errors. Target: 100%.
d. Tied to documents: on the Scores tab, every score cites the signal's source and date. Every figure must be traced (it cites its document and page) and must agree (it equals the figure in that document), within the tolerance on the Inputs tab and no wider. Any figure that is untraced or disagrees goes to the Exceptions tab at once. If the document itself looks wrong, for example a signal whose source gives a different date or figure, raise it as a query; never change the workbook to make it agree. Target: 100%.
e. Matches confirmed: count the rows matched by shared ID, by standardised name and by suggestion. Target: 0 suggested matches left unconfirmed at sign-off.
f. Scores recalculate: every weighted total on the Scores tab is the criterion scores times the criteria weights on the Inputs tab, and the weights sum to 100%. Target: a difference of 0.
g. Signals: every signal carries its source and date, and none is older than the age limit on the Inputs tab.
h. Exclusions: every company already passed on in the CRM is excluded, with the reason.
i. Open exceptions: count the Exceptions rows that are not closed, leaving out only named timing differences with an expected clearing date. Target: 0.
j. Four-eyes: the _Log names the preparer and the approver, who must be different people, and the approver signs off every Exceptions line.

STEP 6. REUSABLE, AUDITABLE AND MEASURED
- Reusable: next period, a person replaces the _Source tabs and updates the Inputs tab, and every other tab recalculates. Keep the Map tab so confirmed matches carry forward.
- Auditable: on the _Log tab, list each source file (name, producer, as-at date, date received, row count, control total), every rule and match you applied with the reason, every assumption, and who prepared and approved. Never overwrite source data. A correction goes in a separate column with a note.
- Measured: add a KPIs tab that the team fills in each period: back-test recall (run on a past period with known answers; share of known differences found; target 100%, and do not adopt the workbook below that); items agreed first time with no manual fix; items flagged that turned out fine; corrections made by the reviewer before sign-off; corrections found after sign-off (target 0); manual edits outside the Inputs and _Source tabs at refresh (target 0); and cycle time in hours from receiving the files to sign-off, against the manual baseline.

If your tool cannot create an .xlsx file, give me each tab as a table plus the exact formula for the first row of every calculated column.

At the end, give me companies screened, companies above the threshold, and companies already in the CRM, the result of every check, and a list of anything you were unsure about.