BY: Craftsolutions
70% Of Organisations Use Spreadsheets
A study of almost 1.000 CFOs and finance professionals shows that more than 70% of organizations rely on spreadsheets (Excel) to capture and summarize financial information with the aim to produce financial reports. This is also what we have found from hundreds of meetings and interviews conducted with companies across many industries.
If you are a finance professional, it is highly probable you are using them on a daily basis. However, spreadsheets have not always been around.
I can still remember one of my early audit missions when I was working for a Big4 firm. I asked the accountant to provide a breakdown of receivables balances outstanding and obviously expected a digital spreadsheet. Instead, I received a pile of yellowish very-much-analog forms packed with grey numbers. They were written in pencil and occasionally marked by grey spots where they were corrected. What a nightmare!
Are Spreadsheets Heroes Still?
Spreadsheets are wonderful tools, which have undoubtedly revolutionized the finance world. We have become reliant on them to handle everything from the simplest calculations to aggregating and displaying millions of lines of data.
The increasingly complex and fast-changing world we are living in also means adding more and more complexity to our spreadsheets. When you add to this equation links between multiple files, it can quickly transform the spreadsheet from a hero into a monster.
It is no wonder that 75% of the interviewed CFOs and finance professionals feel deeply anxious. They have nightmares about possible errors hiding undiscovered somewhere in the belly of the spreadsheet monster. And no CFO wants to be proven wrong in the Board Room! Am I right?
Who Are The New Heroes?
The good news is that more powerful and robust heroes start to emerge and come to the rescue of the distressed CFO and finance professional. Software has evolved so much during recent years and now there are wonderful and automated solutions for your reporting and analysis needs. They can easily return your total control over your numbers. And in the end this is what gives you peace and a sound sleep at night.
If you want to regain your sound sleep, discover what Craft Solutions can do for you by booking a demo with us.
By Sebastian Boureanu, FCCA
CEO of Craft Solutions