Can we really trust spreadsheet numbers? Are spreadsheet-based reports the eye in your mud, or the mud in your eye? Do the numbers really help you to make sense of a complex situation, or do they cloud the issues by muddying the waters even more?
Picture credit: Annie in Bezier
This is a very serious consideration because so many key business decisions are made on the basis of spreadsheet analysis but it is not always clear to the audience whether the spreadsheet numbers are actually [transactional] data or purely subjective opinion.
I have been surprised over the years by just how many large organizations are still driven by spreadsheets, despite massive investments in so-called enterprise systems. In fact, I have yet to meet a corporate reporting system that does not include significant scope for subjective opinion by the reporters.
The consequence is that objectivity takes a back seat to the subjective presentation of ‘information’ and this cannot be good for effective corporate governance, in any field. I do realise that objective data is not always available, particularly when reporting on so-called ‘soft numbers’ (such as intangible benefits).
Maybe we just need reporting systems that differentiate clearly between objective [transactional] data and subjective [interpreted] opinion?
This could be quite easily achieved by using font-based text indicators: objective [transactional] data could be emboldened while subjective opinion (anything that has been originated, or smoothed, by the reporter) could be italicised. Colour coding is good too, providing the colours are suitable for colour-blind readers.
A reasonably small idea but at least we might have executive reports that can be our eye in the mud, rather than just more mud in our eyes.
