What is Spreadsheet Risk?

Over the last thirty years spreadsheet applications have become one of the most important business tools for organizations of all sizes. They are (arguably) the most popular and powerful software tool used in business today. Their popularity and widespread application can be attributed to the fact that they are easy to use, simple to modify, extremely flexible and can be rapidly applied to suit a variety of different business functions – data analysis, data calculations, data presentation, modelling, accounting, reporting, graphing data etc. Microsoft Excel has been the dominant market player in this space for a considerable time. For many organizations Excel has become an essential tool that is embedded in some of their most critical business processes. Indeed, many business decisions are made based on results coming out of an Excel Spreadsheet.   Introducing Errors – How mistakes lead to risk (and loss) Unfortunately, the key strengths that underline the power of spreadsheet applications are also the source of their greatest weakness – Errors. Errors can take many...