Lurking in your record-keeping systems is a pervasive yet often overlooked source of errors – the spreadsheet. Bad math is a significant and wide-ranging issue – 88 percent of all spreadsheets have errors, per MarketWatch contributor Jeremy Olshan. That’s a problem. As companies deal with tidal waves of data that must be sorted, presented and evaluated, it can become a problem. Columns of accounting miscues may have little negative impact on business functionality, but a single spreadsheet error could wreak havoc – and you never know how bad it will be until something happens. In today’s data-driven era, the specter of bad math looms large.
The spreadsheet-centric workforce made sense when higher-performing technology wasn’t necessary or battle-tested, but reality and innovation should have set in by now. Compensation is one area in which relying on fault-ridden methods can be severely detrimental to a company in a variety of ways. Compensation management software is a cost-effective, manageable tool to ensure the accuracy, compliance and flexibility critical to a successful payout process.
More spreadsheets equal more risks
It’s likely that any cursory cross-check of a company’s spreadsheets will unearth errors. These could be due to incorrect entries, as well as symptoms of a larger problem of disorganization, incompleteness and conflicting information. Some spreadsheets may have been created in anticipation of a task and never again seen the light of day, with data effectively disappearing as well. Others quickly become irrelevant as priorities shift. It’s time that the model of application development and use began to change, wrote Wired contributor Peter Schroer
“The problem is that we always build enterprise software by starting with a static data model or an object model, and then we’re surprised when the resulting systems are inflexible,” Schroer wrote. “What if we took different approach? What if we turned the problem upside down?”
So how does compensation management software solve the problem of bad math?
- Guarantees accuracy: Instead of relying on spreadsheets, compensation management software uses automated calculation tools to make sure payouts are on point.
- Makes reports meaningful: Spreadsheets are easy to quickly glaze over, decreasing value and increasing the likelihood you overlook something important. Financial reports are simple to create, customizable and aesthetically pleasing, so you can better communicate your findings.
- Improves compliance: Bad math can be devastating come audit time, and sifting through acres of spreadsheets is a poor recipe for timely compliance. This software simplifies the process of storing and reporting data so it can be easily and accurately retrieved.
