Zombie spreadsheets should be dead – for all intents and purposes they should have been put in the ground long ago – but they refuse to die. Budget templates are the most prevalent form of zombie spreadsheets. They’re complex. They’re prone to error. They’re difficult or impossible to fully audit. Only a handful of people… Read More
The Best Time to Replace Your Excel-BasedWe like to invite others to share what’s on their mind. Today Ted Dacko, the CEO of XLerant. Inc. speaks out on the topic of the inertia that can slow (or even stop) progress. Ted has been CEO of four other software firms prior to XLerant. Most recently, Ted was CEO of HealthMedia which he grew… Read More |
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Hacking the BudgetWhat’s the one thing every Finance person complains about if their organization uses Excel for ng? That users break links or overwrite formulas or somehow introduce errors into the spreadsheet that Finance worked so hard to create. Intentional hacking? Unintentional hacking? Doesn’t matter — the results are the same. The implications are truly frightening. A… Read More |
15 Things You Can’t Do in Excel Budgeting (But Should)Budgeting is “mission critical” in organizations today. Yet many organizations still use Excel for budget preparation. Many organizations have turned to Excel because their ERP systems had weak budgeting capabilities. ERP systems were designed especially for financial people, with strict controls and transaction processing. But successful budgeting involves non-financial department heads, requires flexibility, and account… Read More |
XLerant Heads to CFO Dimensions Event in New York CityThe XLerant team is hitting the road next week (though not straying too far from our CT offices!) for the CFO Dimensions event in the heart of NYC. We’ll have the usual booth presence so all the attendees can come meet and greet with us. But even more exciting is that our CEO, Ted Dacko,… Read More |
Why Budgeting is “Mission Critical” in Higher EducationYou can’t pick up a newspaper without reading about how higher education is under pressure to keep tuition costs in line. In the past, higher education institutions were able to pass along cost increases to students. No more. Now these institutions must learn to do more with the same resources or, in some cases, with… Read More |
Pros and cons of on-premises SaaS hostingIs this the way you feel? Freedom of choice Is what you got Freedom from choice Is what you want –Devo Sometimes we do crave freedom from choice. I know that I am often relieved when I enter a search term on Amazon that turns up only three items. (Try searching for “USB hard drive”;… Read More |
Excel Error Impacts MillionsA recent headline stood out to me: “Argument for Austerity Based on an Excel Error.[1]” I was stunned when I saw it. How could a spreadsheet error be so big that it could shape economic policy? This story shows how drastic the results of a single miscalculation can be. In 2010, Harvard Economists Ken Rogoff… Read More |
The 7 Personas of BudgetingThe 7 Personas of Budgeting (Also known as: Persona Non Grata!) Imagine this: It’s budget time, and you are surrounded… Surrounded by department heads that don’t have financial training, but do have their own agenda and quirky approach to budgeting. You probably don’t have to stretch to imagine it – as most finance teams live… Read More |
Building Corporate Reputation Through Employee Empowerment“The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear.”– Socrates A reputation is something you build. Which means that all companies have choice about how they want to be seen, and that’s pretty empowering. When your team sits down and talks about the kind of company you… Read More |