Spreadsheets are critical to the modern business world and are used in all industries and business functions.  They are used in a range of activities including financial modelling, position keeping, accounting and pricing. Yet spreadsheets are responsible for a catalogue of errors. A regular stream of newspaper stories documents some of the larger multi-million-dollar errors.  These are the tip of the iceberg. 

70% of companies admit to having had a serious error.  For organizations that operate a model risk process, around 60% of models can be on spreadsheets. This means that spreadsheet error is a top 10 operational risk for most financial institutions.  Many organizations still do not have an effective spreadsheet management process, either not addressing the issue at all or running an unnecessarily bureaucratic process. This course will provide attendees with a detailed understanding of how to implement an effective spreadsheet management process.

Course Objectives

• Describe the regulatory and business background to spreadsheet and end user computing risk
• Explain how to develop reliable spreadsheets
• Illustrate how to develop an effective strategy
• Assess end user computing risk in your organization
• Practice how to validate and test a spreadsheet portfolio
• Outline an effective spreadsheet risk process

How It Works

Each Tuesday a lesson launches with pre-recorded video, knowledge checks and an optional exercise. Work through the lessons at your own pace.

• Examples of major spreadsheet errors and their background
• Legal and regulatory requirements
• Relationship to Model Risk
• The role of IT
• Exercise

• Best practice standards
• Five principles of clean spreadsheet design
• Hands-on session applied to best practice spreadsheet development
• Worked example

 Lesson 3.1, 3.2

• Strategy options
• Assess spreadsheet usage, current policy, and process
• Building an inventory

• Principles of validation
• Building quality
• Validation process
• Worked example

• The main components of a spreadsheet risk control process.
• Developing an effective policy
• Change management – getting people to adopt the policy
• Core controls
• Spreadsheet process improvements

• Finance and risk professionals
• IT professions responsible for information security
• Financial institutions that use spreadsheets including banks, insurance companies, and other financial organizations
• Companies with a heavy reliance on spreadsheets

Adrian Maconick is a director of Finsbury Solutions responsible for product and consulting.  He has over twenty years' experience in financial services and “big four” consulting.  He specializes in finance, risk management, and model risk.  Relevant experience includes:

• Operational roles in financial services, for example, as Head of Operations at the EBRD during a time of rapid transaction growth
• Validation of complex financial models, for example, the model validation for the first AAA derivatives vehicle in London
• Development of FBA a large scale risk and finance framework for financial institutions implemented at dozens of financial institutions
• Numerous spreadsheet automation projects in financial services

Adrian is a Chartered Accountant and has a degree in Natural Sciences from Cambridge.