F9 collapses a formula to the number it actually pulls — the dead value names the stale leg, and Esc keeps the formula live.
The Q2 board pack printed a segment total, and the support block behind it has never been footed. One of the eight legs still points at the Q1 column — the feed table is in its own order, so nothing lines up by eye. Foot the block, find the stale leg and repoint it, then build the tie-out against the printed figure and close the page. Auditors call this running a tie-out; collapsing a leg to its value is how you run one without printing anything.
Alt walks: tap Alt, release, then the letters in sequence — each key steps one ribbon menu. On a Mac, tap ⌥ and use the same letters (KeyTips, Excel 2024+).
Shift+→⇧→ on macExtend selection one cell
Nudge a selection one cell at a time when the block you need doesn’t end at a data edge.
Ctrl+B⌘B on macBold
Bold marks structure: titles, total rows, anything the reviewer’s eye should land on first.
Alt h b p⌥ h b p on macTop border
Top border above a total row — the accounting ruling that says “this line sums the ones above.”
F2⌃U · fn F2 on macEdit the active cell (cursor at the end)
Edit-in-place lights up every cell a formula touches — the first move when a number looks wrong.
F9fn F9 on macRecalculate all workbooks
functions you'll type: SUM()
the par-setting sequence, straight through:
foot C12 → =SUM(C4:C11) · ctrl+b + alt h b p · ctrl+[ rides into a leg · F2 then F9 shows what it pulls, esc backs out live · repoint the stale one → =H5 ↵ · C15 → =C12-C14 · ctrl+b · ctrl+s