Partner Article

Northern businesses use too many spreadsheets, research says

Recent research by Accountagility, a leading solutions provider for the finance function, has revealed that nearly three quarters (72%) of businesses in the North of England think they have too many spreadsheets on their systems.

With technology evolving in this area at a rapid pace, Accountagility’s research reveals a need for businesses to look for new ways to store and analyse their data. Finance departments across the UK increasingly need systems that can easily store large amounts of information in one place. As such, firms should consider introducing a system that is more efficient when it comes to analysing this kind of data.

The findings come in the wake of a recent error from retail giant M&S, who had to issue a correction following a spreadsheet error in its quarterly results announcement. Introducing automated tools that can work alongside spreadsheets will help businesses avoid problems like these by reducing the risk of human error when it comes to reporting.

At the same time, limiting the number of spreadsheets will also help businesses to monitor and report on their performance more accurately, thanks to new, agile tools that are better suited to real time accounting and forecasts.

Robert Gothan, CEO and Founder of Accountagility, comments:

“Our research reveals that a large number of businesses in the North are concerned about the amount of spreadsheets their businesses have. In London, this figure is even higher, with 97% of firms saying they now rely too much on spreadsheets.”

In order to address this issue, businesses across the UK should consider introducing automated tools that can cope with the vast amount of data they need to analyse on a daily basis. However, it will be vital to carefully consider the needs of the business first. Within finance departments especially, there is often a tendency to crunch data first and ask questions later, but this way of working must be reversed in order to get the most out of a firm’s data“.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Robert Gothan .