Exorcising Spreadsheet Demons: A Halloween Tale

It was a dark and stormy night. A Canadian electricity transmission company lost $24 million by bidding on unnecessary transmission routes. The reason? A simple spreadsheet error as a result of a copy-and-paste Excel mishap. 

Want another scary tale? You can still hear the screams from a large U.S. manufacturer who realized a spreadsheet typo led to a $11 million severance overpayment. 

The Frightening Reality 

Within too many organizations, evil lurks in the shadow of spreadsheets, threatening to haunt businesses. This is particularly concerning given the speed and volatility of business in today’s global economy, where accurate and efficient data management is critical. According to one Forrester Consulting study, nearly one in three organizations use 10,000-plus spreadsheets regularly? Only 19 percent are actively addressing their risk exposure, with over one in ten unclear on how to tackle spreadsheet-based challenges. 

This is particularly frightening when risk and compliance activities are managed using manual spreadsheet processes. This dated practice drives costly compliance violations and governance breakdowns. Human error can have serious consequences, resulting in financial losses, reputational damage, and in some cases even physical harm. 

Spreadsheets are not a scalable solution for managing large amounts of data. They are difficult to keep accurate, prone to errors and can be easily duplicated, leading to version control issues. They are also not secure because they can be easily shared and distributed, increasing the risk of unauthorized access, data breaches, and compliance violations. 

The Not-So-Scary Truth 

There is hope. SAI360’s integrated GRC Platform centralizes and secures data across the enterprise for a single source of truth, replacing the need for spreadsheets. Automated workflows, including communication of alerts and reports, replace manual tasks to further minimize risks due to human error. As a result, organizations benefit from data integrity, reduced errors, and increased efficiency. In addition, employees are able to focus on more strategic activities.

When it comes to GRC functions, SAI360 can help bring order to the often chaotic and complex regulatory compliance landscape. Request a demo to learn more.