Accountagility’s research also showed that 80% of CFOs have reported a fault with their planning processes when using spreadsheets over the past year, making it clear that these cumbersome approaches are not working as efficiently as they should be.
According to Accountagility, the continuing transformation of the finance function has not been matched by progress in financial technology, which means that many departments are still heavily dependent on tools that are over three decades old.
Particular problems occur for firms grappling with Solvency II in terms of the large amount of data collection, manipulation, analysis and output required. When a tool such as Excel or another spreadsheet function is used for these processes, productivity is compromised and an element of risk is added.
Robert Gothan, CEO and Founder of Accountagility, comments: “Relying on spreadsheets for Solvency II has two principal impacts - errors and process inefficiency. Firms dealing with spreadsheets are spending too little time reviewing the data they have created, leaving errors potentially undiscovered for months to come. Given that the Solvency II framework does not contain allowances for either mechanical error or lack of efficiency, the review stage is the most important, particularly for firms who are required to file solvency returns across the EU.
Our research shows that four in five CFOs cite problems with their spreadsheets, which is truly concerning. Businesses should be wary when relying on spreadsheet tools for their solvency returns, and should consider using automated solutions to streamline these processes in the future.”
|
