Excel is forever. We’ve heard that sentiment from CFO’s over, and over, and over. The question we mull a lot, why? Why are quotes like this about the inevitability of Excel so common?
We think two sides of the trust coin have a lot to do with it.
CFO’s often don’t trust the accuracy of their data coming out of other systems. Whether those systems are fully integrated or not, the refrain they share is pretty consistent… our data still pulls through Excel-ville before we really use it.
Which points to the trust CFO’s do place in Excel. It’s known and in the right hands it’s highly capable, even if relying on it is labor intensive and leaves room for manual error.
The command that we take from this trust seesaw for what we’re building? Help finance teams nail underlying data accuracy and hygiene first. Then be agnostic on where the now-clean data goes. Excel, a third party system, our own reporting and signaling tools, all three? Sure.
So long as the inputs are rock solid, the outputs will surely improve.