Accounting: reliance on spreadsheets waning, survey suggests.Are smaller companies prepared to make the shift from spreadsheet-based accounting processes to more automated au·to·mate v. au·to·mat·ed, au·to·mat·ing, au·to·mates v.tr. 1. To convert to automatic operation: automate a factory. 2. systems? A recent survey suggests that they are. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a survey of 118 financial executives conducted by RevenueRecognition.com and International Data Corp., many working in small to mid-market businesses (SMBs) understand the risks associated with manual accounting processes that are predominantly pre·dom·i·nant adj. 1. Having greatest ascendancy, importance, influence, authority, or force. See Synonyms at dominant. 2. spreadsheet-based and plan to "dramatically reduce" their reliance on spreadsheets--even within the next 12 months--to increase the reliability of information and tighten audit trails. In fact, the survey found, 80 percent of respondents In the context of marketing research, a representative sample drawn from a larger population of people from whom information is collected and used to develop or confirm marketing strategy. believe spreadsheets should not be the foundation for such critical accounting processes as revenue recognition, contract management, purchasing, inventory, billing and payroll. The report concludes that 40 percent fewer SMB (1) (Small to Medium-sized Business) Also called "SME" (small to medium-sized enterprise), it refers to companies that are larger than the small office/home office (SOHO), but not huge. respondents expect to be using spreadsheets for closing their books, and that companies plan to reduce spreadsheet spreadsheet Computer software that allows the user to enter columns and rows of numbers in a ledgerlike format. Any cell of the ledger may contain either data or a formula that describes the value that should be inserted therein based on the values in other cells. use by nearly one-third for tasks such as reporting, forecasting and handling deferred revenue. Similar drops are seen in the areas of revenue recognition, budgeting and planning, and billing schedules. Asked what major risks are associated with spreadsheet-based processes, 63 percent said they are prone to errors, 58 percent cited the lack of an audit trail and 56 percent said they lacked internal controls. Only 5 percent claimed that no risks existed. CFOs, controllers and vice presidents of finance were among those surveyed. More survey results are available online at www.revenuerecognition.com. |
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