Spreadsheet Errors Costing Billions

IT-Director.com has an article up by Philip Howard, who claims that American companies may be losing an estimated $10 billion annually due to mistakes in computer spreadsheets.

A simple problem, such as the misuse of a software feature or incorrectly applied formula equation, can create an estimated $10,000 and $100,000 cost every month based on a single spreadsheet error. This is compounded when you consider that auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers and KPMG have both estimated that up to 90% of all important corporate spreadsheets have material errors in them.

It’s not hard to see how a simple error in an important spreadsheet could cause such trouble. Most companies don’t properly audit the setup of spreadsheets created by management for planning and control and most IT departments see doing so as outside their department.