From Spreadsheet-Driven Madness to Reporting That Excels

When reports are effective, a single answer leads to several new questions. Data transformed into information becomes intelligence; this prompts the pursuit of greater insights. When this pursuit is only supported by uncontrolled spreadsheets, the effort is time-consuming, unreliable and error-prone. When the pursuit is supported by flexible reporting under appropriate controls, high confidence in the insights leads to business excellence.

This article describes some of the hazards that are inherent to spreadsheets and spreadsheet reporting and offers guidance on how to get them under control.