Missing data and estimation decision log
Keep a reporting gap visible until the responsible team has documented how it will be treated. This log records recovery attempts, a proposed estimate where relevant, method review and the eventual decision. It keeps an approved estimate distinguishable from recovered actual evidence and from a not-applicable decision.
The XLSX includes a blank 60-row Gap decisions sheet, a separate Fictional example and a field dictionary. It does not select an estimation method, calculate an estimate or provide a universal proxy. All example records and figures are fictional.
Describe what is missing before proposing a number
Record the metric or missing item, entity or site boundary, affected period, discovery date and accountable owner. Choose Missing record, Missing value or Partial coverage. A lost document may be recoverable even when the quantity is known; a complete-looking folder may still omit part of the requested period.
List the recovery attempts and their outcome. Identify the evidence that remains available using a precise controlled reference. Keep the candidate value blank when there is no actual proposal. Zero is reserved for a numeric proposal with a documented basis, never for an unknown quantity.
Put the method decision on record
For a candidate estimate, record the proposed value, exact unit and reproducible calculation or method reference.
Document the method-permission and suitability assessment, source inputs, assumptions, uncertainty and limitations. Supported is a human review label, not a formula conclusion.
Choose the treatment: Recover records, Use estimate, Disclose gap, Not applicable, Reject estimate or Recovered actual.
Keep the decision Pending until the responsible reviewer has recorded approval, its actual date, a retained decision reference and the reporting or disclosure treatment.
For Use estimate, record when the estimate should be replaced or revisited. An Approved estimate requires the method review to be Supported.
Keep a next action and due date while the gap is unresolved. Record a resolution date only after an approved closing treatment has a supporting resolution-evidence reference.
Fictional examples show why resolution labels matter
The example contains five separate fictional fuel-evidence gaps. One remains in recovery. A 480-litre candidate has a Supported method review and an Approved Use estimate decision, with a resolution record. Its position remains Resolved using estimate. The formula does not relabel it as measured consumption.
A different 640-litre candidate is rejected as unsupported. Its proposed value stays in the historical context of the row, while the approved-estimate output remains blank and the underlying gap stays open. Another gap is resolved with actual evidence, and its outcome is explicitly labelled that way.
A fifth teaching row contains an approved numeric zero, supported only by the invented idle-period evidence described in that row. The output preserves zero. Its action remains open because approval of a proposal and completion of follow-through are separate matters. These examples are independent records, not alternative estimates for the same real asset.
Read the outputs carefully
Approved estimate value displays the entered candidate only when the row passes its input checks and the decision is Approved Use estimate with Supported method review. Pending, rejected, recovered-actual and not-applicable treatments do not emit a candidate as approved data.
Open age is the fixed as-of date minus the discovery date. A gap opened on as-of has a real zero-day age. The age becomes blank when resolution is recorded. A rejected estimate or a decision to continue recovery cannot use a resolution date to make the gap disappear.
The Corporate Standard’s inventory-quality guidance discusses methods, data, documentation and review. It is useful context for preserving an estimation trail. Permission to use a particular estimate still depends on the applicable indicator, reporting purpose, method and facts; this workbook cannot establish that permission.
Download and use within its limits
Numeric, date and sequence inputs accept literal numbers and formulas returning numbers. Logical TRUE/FALSE results, text numbers and error results are invalid. Keep the General base input formats and paste values only. For dates, use =DATE(year,month,day) or paste numeric date serials; conditional formatting supplies the date display. Typing localized dates or pasting source formats can replace General and undermine logical-value checks in the tested Calc build. Restore original input formats before using the results. Formula-generated empty text is permitted only where the field may be blank; it does not mean zero or not applicable.
The log supports 60 rows, 15–74, and quantitative candidate values from −1e12 to +1e12 in their stated units. No unit conversion, uncertainty interval or confidence percentage is generated. Preserve prior decision versions in controlled files; the workbook is a current-status register rather than an immutable audit database.
Inputs and formulas use different fills. Dropdown labels are case- and whitespace-sensitive. Extend all bounded ranges together before adding rows. The XLSX has no macros or external connections. Artifact calculation tests and cache-cleared, disposable headless LibreOffice recalculation tests were performed. Native PDF rendering is a file-display check, not desktop interaction. Desktop/UI and Microsoft Excel testing remain unperformed. Independent acceptance and live publisher checks are separate gates.
Work through a difficult gap
For a recovery sequence and an example of rejecting an unsupported midpoint, read the missing-records guide. Nitium Advisory can help organise reporting requests and unresolved data gaps within an agreed scope.
Version 1.0.1. Prepared 6 October 2026. This optional log does not approve a reporting method, determine compliance or provide independent assurance. AI-assisted preparation; no independent professional sign-off is claimed.
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