Spreadsheets have been taking quite a beating in the recent press and for good reason.
Research conducted at the University of Hawaii over the past 10 years has found that 88% of spreadsheets contain at least one error and that approximately 5% of these errors are considered serious in nature. Yet, spreadsheets continue to be ubiquitous. In fact, 95% of U.S. companies use spreadsheets in their financial reporting process and 85% use spreadsheets in their budgeting process. In other words, the risk of spreadsheet errors having an impact exists in nearly every company. The problem isn’t with the spreadsheet format itself, but rather with issues caused, ultimately, by human error.
There are at least three major categories of spreadsheet errors:
Data entry errors
Formula and/or logic errors
Interpretation errors
To compound these problems, standalone spreadsheets do not have a system that controls access or tracks changes. When errors are detected, this makes it difficult, if not impossible, to trace who made the error and when the error was introduced.