|
|
|
Note:
These issues
relate to BOTH Reporting and Budgeting regardless of whether a company is
using spreadsheets or another system currently.
|
|
|
|
Reliance of Key Individuals They have built
the systems and know the quirks e.g. extensive use of Macros, complex
formulas, linked sheets, formatting different reports for different users
etc. This individual coordinates the
whole thing and do all the maintenance.
|
|
Maintenance database / linked spreadsheets;
maintaining the system is a big problem as company requirements, reporting
requirements change; Often many
spreadsheets are linked together in order to product the relevant
information, the time and effort
involved in the maintenance of these links can be substantial. Maintenance
can also be an issue where there are changes made to the source database(s),
many systems do not automatically reflect these changes in reports, leading
to slow and time consuming maintenance of these links.
|
|
Re-keying of data / data integrity - Re-keying takes time and means that mistakes
can creep into the reports, reliance tends to fall on a few key individuals resource; takes time; bored staff, data
integrity; cant collect as much as you may want all due to lack of resource
and time
|
|
Balances vs transaction detail if they want a
true distributed reporting system then they need to be able to provide
different types of users with different levels of detail which is often not
available, Many systems will only
display balances and do not allow for drill down or access to transactional
details
|
|
Distribution can be a problem. Often different
people within the organisation require different reports, eg sales department
vs the MD vs statutory reporting requirements etc, all of these need to be
produced individually. Some people will not be authorised to view some of the
information in reports. There may be a requirement to send sections of the
reporting database to different divisions within the company for them to
product their own reports from. There may be a requirement to publish the
reports over the web. There are many different requirements for the delivery
of the reports which need to be addressed and dealt with efficiently. The
point about multiple workbooks is a point to be emphasised within a Budgeting
presentation, workbooks can be sent out to the various cost centres or budget
controllers. Distribution of
reports, multiple workbooks distribution of reports is a problem because of
linked spreadsheets that need to be set in common area to enable them to
work; someone has to copy files and send them across the network and this is
a timely process and it is also a maintenance issue in terms of how you
distribute it and collect it back again, particularly for budgeting
|
|
|
|
Inflexible formatting, variance analysis if
you need to change the format of a report using spreadsheet you can do it but
lose all the data and links etc. so need to have a way of preserving that and
having the flexibility to produce the reports in the right format; if you are
a non-spreadsheet user then reporting can be a complex task. Excel offers the potential for powerful
formatting which needs to be fully exploited to produce good reports.
|
|
Model integrity vs end-user autonomy how do
you preserve your model integrity without restricting the users flexibility
and right to add additional relevant information
|
|
Integrated, comparative reporting and analysis
- There is often a need to
integrate budget, actual and forecast information on the same spreadsheet. It
is also often necessary to combine information from more than one source
system to be included on the same reports.;
|
|
Accountants want reporting that is delivered on
time, not a week or two weeks after ledger close. This means that the
information contained within the reports can be used in a more proactive
rather than reactive way.
|
|
|
|
Untimely reporting!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
