August 31, 2024
At Fathom, we’ve been hearing from our community of accountants about the real-world struggles they face with spreadsheets. These aren’t just abstract concerns—they’re firsthand experiences from professionals who’ve encountered the limitations of spreadsheets in their daily work.
Relying on manual spreadsheets is becoming a risky game in today’s fast-paced business world, where data-driven decision-making is key. Believe it or not, a staggering 88% of all spreadsheets contain errors, with 50% of those used by large companies having 'serious' issues, according to research by F1F9. These statistics highlight the very real threat that spreadsheet errors pose to the financial health of any organisation.
In fact, a 2017 survey conducted by OnePoll (now Talker Research) on behalf of Identity Guard found that the average worker makes around 118 mistakes each year. From the infamous "reply all" emails to accidentally deleting files, these mistakes remind us just how human we all are. And nothing sends a bigger shiver down an accountant's spine than an Excel error message—it’s not just frustrating; it disrupts workflow and can derail project deadlines.
Many of our customers have shared that while Excel is a powerful tool, it does have its limitations, just like many others. There's nothing like first-hand accounts, so read on to hear some real-world experiences from Fathom customers. These stories illustrate the challenges and risks they’ve faced when relying on spreadsheets. Here’s what they’ve shared...
One of our customers shared a particularly stressful experience that happened just before a major board meeting.
“It was a weekend, and my partner and I were in the office, both of us bleary-eyed and exhausted, scanning through a massive spreadsheet with 60 or 70 tabs,” they recalled.
“We were desperately trying to locate a single error that had the potential to derail the entire presentation. The pressure was intense—every minute spent searching was one less minute for final preparations. By the end of it, we felt more like detectives than accountants, knowing that any mistake could lead to disastrous consequences.”
This is the harsh reality for many professionals who rely on spreadsheets to manage complex data, where even the smallest error can have a significant impact.
Another accountant recounted the months they spent maintaining an unwieldy master spreadsheet filled with dozens of tabs.
“I had spent months building this master spreadsheet with all the tabs representing different parts of our financial data,” they explained.
“I’d built formulas to automatically consolidate revenue, expenses, and balance sheets across multiple entities. It seemed efficient at first, but when the data came in different formats, with different charts of accounts, it quickly became overwhelming. One wrong formula, and the whole thing could come crashing down. The pressure of knowing that any small mistake could mean days of rework was almost unbearable.”
The strain of maintaining such complex spreadsheets is all too real, with even minor errors leading to major headaches.
One customer shared their struggles with consolidating financials from multiple entities, each using its own set of nominal codes and account names.
“We had to create entirely new sets of codes and manually remap everything to ensure consistency across the board,” they said.
“Even when the client provided consolidated codes, issues still cropped up. It led to endless back-and-forth emails, delays, and a growing sense of frustration. The entire process felt like a constant uphill battle, with the risks and workload piling up by the day.”
This story highlights the immense effort required to maintain alignment across different financial systems, where even small discrepancies can cause significant delays and frustrations.
In another story, an accountant explained how mismatched account names across different entities turned routine checks into a nightmare.
“We couldn’t rely on standard Excel functions like VLOOKUPs or INDEX MATCH to verify the data,” they shared.
“Instead, we had to create additional tabs just to map out the different codes and names, all for the sake of running checks and audits. This extra step not only slowed down the entire process but also introduced more opportunities for errors. The complexity and manual labour involved left us feeling overwhelmed and drained.”
The manual effort required for these checks adds an extra layer of stress to an already challenging task, making it a daunting process for any finance professional.
A particularly frustrating experience was shared by a customer who had finally managed to get all the data aligned and consolidated, only to have the client challenge the layout of the spreadsheet.
“We’d just finished aligning all the data when the client asked for more tables and data points,” they recounted.
“That meant more tabs, more data entry, and more formatting. What should have been a quick update turned into hours of back-and-forth. Every minor change required checks, revisions, and approvals. The process felt never-ending, and each revision added another layer of stress.”
This story underlines how client requests, no matter how small, can snowball into a time-consuming and stressful process when using spreadsheets for complex tasks.
One of the more complex horror stories came from a customer who dealt with multi-currency and intercompany transactions.
“Managing multi-currency transactions was like navigating a minefield,” they said.
“Every step required meticulous checking and rechecking, but even with all that effort, mistakes still slipped through. The stress of knowing that any missed detail could have major implications kept me up at night, dreading the next round of consolidations.”
This story highlights the sheer complexity of dealing with multiple currencies in spreadsheets, where even the most diligent checks can’t always prevent errors.
Another client described their ordeal with a particularly challenging case: maintaining entire accounts on spreadsheets in parallel with an accounting system.
“Every single transaction entered into the accounting system was manually duplicated in Excel,” they explained.
“Reports were then generated from both systems and compared, but the Excel version always took precedence for director-level reporting. The sheer amount of time wasted on this redundant process was staggering. It highlighted the inefficiencies and risks that come with relying on Excel for tasks it wasn’t designed to handle.”
This story showcases the inefficiencies and risks of maintaining duplicate systems, where manual entry can lead to unnecessary workload and increased chances of error.
One story that encapsulates the risks of Excel misuse involved a client who used white font to “balance” totals when they couldn’t locate a discrepancy.
“It seemed like a clever workaround at the time,” they admitted, “but it was a ticking time bomb. The hidden errors created by this approach eventually led to a cascade of problems that were far more difficult and time-consuming to fix.”
This cautionary tale serves as a reminder of how seemingly harmless shortcuts in Excel can lead to significant issues down the line.
These stories from our community of accountants and finance professionals show that while Excel is a powerful tool, it has its limitations—especially when used for complex tasks like consolidated financials and reporting. The flexibility and familiarity of Excel are undeniable, but so are the risks and challenges that come with using it for tasks better performed by dedicated software.
At Fathom, we understand these challenges, and we’re here to help you move beyond them. Our tools are designed to complement the strengths of Excel while minimising its risks, enhancing accuracy, and freeing up your time for more strategic, impactful work. Fathom helps your financial operations to run smoothly and efficiently, so you can focus on what matters - driving your business forward.
Learn more about our consolidations feature here.
Want to try consolidations in Fathom for free? Start a 14-day trial here.
Ellie is a campaign marketing manager at Fathom, with a degree in branding and marketing. With a background in campaign strategy and creation, Ellie is passionate about showcasing how Fathom can make a real difference to finance professionals and businesses.
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