Leveraging User Profile and Behaviour to Design Practical Spreadsheet Controls for the Finance Function

TL;DR

This paper explores how finance organizations can improve spreadsheet risk management by leveraging user profiles and behaviors to implement practical, targeted controls without requiring extensive corporate mandates.

Contribution

It introduces a strategy for selecting effective spreadsheet controls based on user practices, facilitating easier adoption of risk management in finance.

Findings

Strategic control selection reduces spreadsheet errors.

User behavior insights enhance control effectiveness.

Practical controls can be implemented without extensive mandates.

Abstract

Recognizing that the use of spreadsheets within finance will likely not subside in the near future, this paper discusses a major barrier that is preventing more organizations from adopting enterprise spreadsheet management programs. But even without a corporate mandated effort to improve spreadsheet controls, finance functions can still take simple yet effective steps to start managing the risk of errors in key spreadsheets by strategically selecting controls that complement existing user practice