Authors
John Cummings
Abstract
Sarbanes-Oxley brought a new urgency to taming the challenges of spreadsheet risk, but solutions remained largely half-baked. Now companies are coming back to the problem with robust methodologies and new software tools.
Sample
Determine the appropriate level of control for each spreadsheet based on its risk profile. Are the controls that are already in place effective? Do they need to be supplemented with additional preventive or detective measures?
The controls for protecting spreadsheet baselines are:
- Versioning should be employed in all spreadsheet changes.
- All changes to a spreadsheet are reviewed and approved.
- The validity of spreadsheet inputs should be ascertained.
- Spreadsheets should reside on file servers.
- Spreadsheet files are backed up to external media.
- Spreadsheet files should be protected with some form of access control.
- Non–input-related spreadsheet fields are password-protected.
Publication
2008, Business Finance, Volume 14, Issue 9, September, pages 32-35
