User Access Review Template: Why Excel Is Holding Your Compliance Program Back

Most User Access Review templates follow the same pattern: a Document Control cover sheet, a Version History and Approval Sign-Off log, a Quarterly Review sheet listing users and access decisions, a Role Access Matrix, and an Access Removal Log. It looks thorough — but in 2026, running that process by hand in Excel creates more audit risk than it removes. Tools like Squarum replace the spreadsheet with multi-user collaboration, automated notifications, and an immutable, audit-proof record of every access decision.