This slide describes a method by which spreadsheet changes can be automatically assessed for risk

1. Quantifying risk in Excel spreadsheet changes DiffXL

2. By their very nature, spreadsheets change

3. Change matters

4. But who cares about spreadsheet change?

5. Spreadsheet owners & risk managers

6. Internal & external auditors

8. Mike Oxley Paul Sarbanes

9. How do companies deal with spreadsheet change?

10. In a perfect world …

11. Every spreadsheet would be audited and all risks would be mitigated

12. What do real-worldmanagers say about spreadsheet changes?

13. What do real-worldmanagers say about spreadsheet changes? We would obviously test and document any changes – But we haven’t amended anything this year. We always check the changes before release, but they’re not major enough to change the documentation

14. What happens when we talk to real-worldauditors about spreadsheet auditing?

15. What happens when we talk to real-worldauditors about spreadsheet auditing? We’ll always check the high risk spreadsheets, but the rest tend to get ignored – We’ll do them all some day. Realistically, we’d probably expect some smallunexplained variations in the final results

16. The result?

17. Everything’s fine, boss

18. … yes, just fine

20. Is this how you see a spreadsheet?

21. This is how DiffXL sees a spreadsheet

22. Formula maps A visual representation of a spreadsheet Standard spreadsheet view Formula view (R1C1 style, available in Excel) Formula map view (as processed by a formula map tool)

23. Examples of changes to the shape& colourof a formula map

24. Original view (Formula map version)

25. Original view (Formula map version)

26. Original view (Formula map version) Column added with new text and formula

27. Original view (Formula map version)

28. Original view (Formula map version) Region extended, one text cell and one new formula added at the bottom

29. Some changes offer little genuine risk

30. Original view (Formula map version)

31. Original view (Formula map version) Entire region moved and text entered in cell B2

32. Others give cause for concern

33. Original view (Formula map version)

34. Original view (Formula map version) Text overwrites formula in C5, new formula in cell E5

35. DiffXL also stores some other basicdata about the structure. Altogether this means it can ascertain data and formula ranges that have been … Changed, Combined, Created, Deleted, Extended, Moved, Overwritten, Shrunk, Sorted or Split

36. DiffXL

37. DiffXL Considers a spreadsheet as a set of contiguous coloured rectangles

38. DiffXL Considers a spreadsheet as a set of contiguous coloured rectangles Looks at how the shapes & colours change

39. DiffXL Considers a spreadsheet as a set of contiguous coloured rectangles Looks at how the shapes & colours change And assigns the spreadsheet an appropriate change-risk metric

40. Why measure risk and not just change?

41. Because when we understand the true Risk we can assign the most appropriate Effort to minimize the overall Cost

42. ... and so concentrate on the things that really matter

43. DiffXL analysis can be run ….

44. DiffXL analysis can be run …. Automatically during a file save or publish (SharePoint)

45. DiffXL analysis can be run …. Automatically during a file save or publish (SharePoint) As part of a monthly, quarterly or yearly checking process (Excel or SharePoint)

46. DiffXL analysis can be run …. Automatically during a file save or publish (SharePoint) As part of a monthly, quarterly or yearly checking process (Excel or SharePoint) Manually in Excel by a user, manager or auditor

47. How can DiffXL help auditors?

48. It can be run quickly and simply against every important spreadsheet

49. It identifies spreadsheets where the underlying data has changed

50. It highlights spreadsheets whose calculation methods have been modified

51. It can spot spreadsheets that are fundamentally the same

52. How can DiffXL help departmental & risk managers?

53. It can identify spreadsheets that have been changed accidentally

54. It can isolate spreadsheets that require re-documenting or re-testing

55. It can recognize a spreadsheet in need of attention

56. ... and it can be used to locate issues pro-actively, allowing managers to resolve problems at a convenient time before audit.

57. Plus, there’s a little benefit on the side …

58. Happy users!

59. Happy users! Why so?

60. They can demonstrate that their changes are of little risk

61. Restrictive or time consuming change procedures can be targeted towards high risk changes

62. They can identify any high-risk changes themselves … and mitigate them if required

63. So where does that leave companies using a DiffXL approach to spreadsheet change?

64. Informed managers DiffXL

65. Informed managers Satisfied auditors DiffXL

66. Informed managers Satisfied auditors Happy users DiffXL

67. Beautiful

68. Excel & SharePoint are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. DiffXL is a registered trademark of ExcelforManagers.com. Copyright 2009 Excel For Managers. All rights reserved.