Spreadsheets and Access Databases –
Enterprise Control, Efficiency and Insight
Find It. Audit. Profit
Users
IT
Exec
Management
Everybody has problems
with spreadsheets
Clients
Brand Protection
Loss of Reputation
Avoiding major losses
Compliance / Audit concerns
Data Integrity
Operational Risk / Losses
Fraud
Sustainable Controls
Reporting Overheads
Business Information
Client Relations
Tactical and Strategic Needs
Accuracy of work / fewer errors
Manually Intensive Analysis
Productivity
Lean IT
Low Support Costs
Prompt,
There are really two distinct groups of problems
‘Bad’ spreadsheets
– This has traditionally been the focus of Eusprig
– Poor logic, poor layout, sensitive content, lack of security
– Where resources permit this is solved through audit, testing,
rewriting etc.
– Good for Day 1 but this does not solve the problem on Day 2, 3....
Good spreadsheets that go ‘bad’ during usage
– This is one of the biggest problems for business
– Could audit and test the spreadsheet after every use but this
would be prohibitively expensive and slow
– Need to automate the process to provide continuous validation
(can be called continuous audit) against a wide range of business
rules
Mindset
For this presentation:
Forget about spreadsheets as ‘models’
Think about them as IT applications:
– used repeatedly (hourly, daily, monthly etc.)
– used by people who didn’t write them and often don’t
have the skills to write/understand them
– don’t say it shouldn’t be a spreadsheet – get real, it is
– primarily data processing, but functionality changes
common (that’s why it is a spreadsheet)
Spreadsheet application usage – common operations
The role of spreadsheets and systems in supporting the
information supply chain.
Operations
Decision Makers
Work (& document?) Release Internal e.g. Executives External e.g. Clients Check Fix (& document?) CheckManual approach
Issues:
• How do you know
what to check?
• How can you possibly
check
thousands/millions of
cells?
• Relies on
diligence/integrity of
individuals = many
wasted hours
Alert
Automated
Operations
Decision Makers
Failed Passed Repair / Approve Internal e.g. Executives External e.g. Clients Validate Productivity
Automated Operations
Issues:
• Validation is more
than just change. It is
activity combined with
context
• Most activity is
business as normal
• Just having an audit
trail is pretty useless
• Can’t drown users in
information. Must work
from exception
reports/alerts
• How do you know you
are tracking ALL of the
right spreadsheets?
Assess Discover Alert Test & Secure Register
Identify
Decision Makers
Failed Passed Internal e.g. Executives External e.g. Clients Validate
Automated
Operations
ProductivityExpanding control
Issues:
• How do you keep track & document of all this data/operations?
• How do you confirm that required processes are actually occurring?
Repair / Approve
Assess Discover Alert Test & Secure Register
Identify
Operations
Decision Makers
Failed Passed Internal e.g. Executives External e.g. Clients Validate
Knowing what is going on
Productivity
Summary
Reporting
Repair / Approve
Assess Discover Alert Test & Secure Register
Identify
Operations
Decision Makers
Failed Passed Internal e.g. Executives External e.g. Clients Validate Retire
Reaping more benefits
Productivity
Summary
Reporting
Opportunity Repair / ApproveDiscover
Assess
Register
Id
en
ti
fy
Validate
Alert
Update/Approve
Report
Op
er
ati
o
n
s
Productivity
EUC control stages
Secure
Opportunity
Locate critical EUCs
Understand risk of each EUC
Nominate EUC for management
Apply appropriate security settings
Confirm that EUC continues to meet integrity tests
Notify relevant users of integrity breaks
Repair or approve integrity breaks
Provide enterprise reporting on activity and workflow
Accelerate/eliminate manual processes
Discover
Assess
Register
Id
en
ti
fy
Validate
Alert
Update/Approve
Report
Op
er
ati
o
n
s
Productivity
Secure
Execs
OPS Risk & Mgt Excel Users
Watched General Super
Technology
Opportunity
Example User
Mappings / Roles
ClusterSeven Stack
User Stack
Central Systems Stack
Downstream systems Integrity Managers
ClusterSeven Architecture
Data ConsumersException reports, alerts
Enterprise Software e.g. BI/CMS
