Authors
Andrew Hawker
Abstract
Students learning how to apply spreadsheets to accounting problems are not always well served by the built-in financial functions. Problems can arise because of differences between UK and US practice, through anomalies in the functions themselves, and because the promptings of Wizards' engender an attitude of filling in the blanks on the screen, and hoping for the best.
Some examples of these problems are described, and suggestions are presented for ways of improving the situation. Principally, it is suggested that spreadsheet prompts and 'Help' screens should offer integrated guidance, covering some aspects of financial practice, as well as matters of spreadsheet technique.
Sample
The problem areas can be grouped under three headings:
- Unexpected results. Spreadsheets are expected to deliver precision. For example, Excel uses a depreciation factor which is accurate to three decimal place, so anyone who adds up depreciation values over the life of the asset, and expects that the salvage value will always equate to the initial value minus the accumulated depreciation, could be in for a shock.
- Misleading or ineffective "help". There are many areas of Help text which remain unchanged from early Excel releases. Where changes have been made, they often have the feel of amendments to a software specification, rather than real attempts to guide and inform the behaviour of users.
- Elephant traps. For example, the Insert Function has led to various forms of "function surfing". This creates two versions of the elephant trap. Firstly, the function may yield up a result which looks fine, but which is actually wrong. Alternatively, the function may indeed be the right one, but if inappropriate data is fed into it, the rather restricted feedback may not alert the user to this.
Publication
2000, EuSpRIG
