Spreadsheet Risk - A New Direction for HMRC?

TL;DR

This paper discusses a new approach for HMRC to assess and manage spreadsheet risks by providing all staff with a user-friendly analysis and risk assessment tool, enhancing internal controls.

Contribution

It introduces a novel, accessible spreadsheet risk assessment method for all staff, expanding beyond trained auditors to improve risk management.

Findings

Pilot implementation of the tool showed increased risk detection.

Staff found the tool easy to use and effective.

Potential for broader adoption across departments.

Abstract

Her Majestys Revenue & Customs (HMRC) was born out of the need to create a UK tax authority by merging both the Inland Revenue and HM Customs & Excise into one department. HMRC encounters spreadsheets in tax-payers systems on a very regular basis as well as being a heavy user of spreadsheets internally. The approach to spreadsheet risk assessment and spreadsheet audit is by the use of trained computer auditors and data handlers. This, by definition, limits the use of our specialist spreadsheet audit tool to such trained staff. In order to tackle the growing use of spreadsheets, a new way of approaching the problem has been piloted. The aim is to issue all staff who come across spreadsheets with a simple to use analysis and risk assessment tool, based on the departmental software SpACE (Spreadsheet Audit & Compliance Examination).