MGI Solutions
 Advanced Excel Spreadsheets & Reporting Tools
Spreadsheets can become a corporate nightmare but they don't have to be.
MGI arranges your spreadsheets so they are fast, secure, dynamic, multi-functioning with drill down capability and most importantly so they make sense and are easy to use for all business users.
MGI uses Microsoft Excel as the interface for planning, budget reporting tools, forecasting, analytics, & reporting models. We separated out the presentation of the model from it's logic, structure & formulas while adding a security layer, which shields less-experienced or careless users from accidentally corrupting existing models. By isolating the presentation screen from the formulas we were able to remove the painstaking tasks of having to lock certain cells in order to keep users from changing cell data.
By layering the functionality of the software, workers see only as much of the product as they need to.
"We have worked extremely hard to put Control in a familiar and understandable form that financial analysts, planners, and end users know and love, which is the Excel environment," says Tony Ciotti, president MGI Solutions.
Many venders offer robust and complex software solutions. Not all customers, however, require such sophistication.
Indeed, consultants say finance managers who yearn for usability need to be wary of purchasing modeling software that is light years beyond their needs or abilities. "You don't buy a cannon to shoot a rabbit," says Guillermo Kopp, vice president of the cross-industry practice at Tower Group Inc., a financial-services research and consulting firm in Needham, Massachusetts.
Whitepaper: PricewaterhouseCoopers' Whitepaper "The Use of Spreadsheets: Considerations for Section 404 of the Sarbanes Oxley Act", introducing the concept of Spreadsheet Remediation and the 12 controls for Sarbanes Oxley compliant spreadsheet deployment, can be found here.
Questions & Answers on Excel Spreadsheets:
Q: Is it possible to write-back from Excel directly to the data base and how would that benefit us?
A: Yes. MGI consultants set you up so you can write-back to any data source from your structured, secure Excel spreadsheet and pull data from any data source directly into your Excel spreadsheet.
Each sheet is set up with custom security controls to meet your exact needs. By doing this you can forecast and budget with speed, update data base information such as changes in customer details and, more than that you can attach notes to reports which are instantly viewable by anyone accessing that report! This eliminates the constant e-mailing of spreadsheets back and forth.
Q: What can an MGI Excel Spreadsheet expert do that my IT dept can’t do?
A: An MGI Excel expert designs your spreadsheets so that you are able to sort and filter multiple sections of data on one sheet.
Each section has drop down lists so you can cross analyze any data from a single sheet and most impressively, this is done "instantly" with little to no lag time.
Additionally your spreadsheets are set up so you can write-back directly to the data base and pull data from any source directly into your spreadsheet eliminating manual entry and back and forth e-mailing of spreadsheets.
Q: Does an Excel Spreadsheet really error?
A: No, the true culprit is the data being fed into the spreadsheet and the lack of controls over the spreadsheets. [Lack of spreadsheet reporting procedures and strict data management policies.]
Q: Do you really need new and complicated reporting software?
A: No
Q: Why should I automate the data from my different systems & have it go directly into my reports and is it secure?
A: Because not only will you eliminate user entry errors but you will remove 90-100% of manual entry into your reports, saving 100's of hours per month. You will also be able to access your data quickly and easily and be able to cross analyze any area instantly. Automation also increases accuracy which increases your confidence when reporting facts to your shareholders and governmental agencies. Budget reports are also easier to prepare when your data is automated & accurate.
An article in the May 24, 2004 issue of Computer World indicated that, "Anecdotal evidence suggests that 20% to 40% of spreadsheets have errors, but recent audits of 54 spreadsheets found that 49 (or 91%) had errors, according to research by Raymond R. Panko, a professor at the University of Hawaii ."
The Journal of Property Management on July 1, 2002 stated, "30 to 90 percent of all spreadsheets suffer from at least one major user error. The range in error rates depends on the complexity of the spreadsheet
being tested. In addition, none of the tests included spreadsheets with more than 200 line items where the probability of error approaches 100 percent."
Perform an online search for excel spreadsheet errors or excel spreadsheet audit , and you will find a number of major failures attributed to spreadsheet inaccuracies that hit the press in the past year alone.
Some of the more emphatic examples noted PricewaterhouseCoopers include:
- A spreadsheet error at a major financial institution was deemed a significant factor in a $1 billion financial statement error in the classification of securities . The error resulted from a flawed change control process-an unapproved change to a formula within the spreadsheet-and other control deficiencies, including lack of technical and user documentation, insufficient testing and inadequate backup and recovery procedures.
- A utilities company took a $24 million charge to earnings after a spreadsheet error -a simple mistake in cutting and pasting-resulted in an erroneous bid for the purchase of hedging contracts at a higher price than it wanted to pay.
- A trader at a bank was able to perpetrate fraud through manipulation of spreadsheet models used by the bank's risk control staff. Because of inadequate controls over the spreadsheet, this fraud continued for months.
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