Spreadsheets are universally loved. Why? Because they give everyone their own
version of the truth, with complete autonomy to update and amend them as often
as they like, without interference from anyone else. However, while spreadsheets
might be great tool at an individual level they are completely un-scalable, and
therefore totally unsuitable for compiling and analysing information
enterprise-wide, or even for individual projects.

When applied to a risk management scenario, the potential horrors magnify.
Who knows what risks are lurking in a spreadsheet so far undiscovered, with all
around thinking that they have ‘ticked the box’ and that risk is managed. 
Using spreadsheets and emails to manage risk, is a very risky approach.

Here are the main reasons that does not work:

• Lack of integrity – spreadsheets are easily manipulated.
  Anyone could make changes to data to help present a better picture. This could
  be to cover up a situation once it has happened, to help move blame or
  mitigate responsibility, or to present a situation or opportunity in a better
  light.


• No audit trail – you can’t easily check who changed what
  when.  You have no guarantee of the provenance of data supplied, and you
  can’t see how it may have changed over time.


• Deadlines missed – spreadsheets don’t have any workflows
  or processes built into them. So while someone may request a review, some
  information or an audit, if there is no response, there is no mechanism to
  highlight missed deadlines.


• No consistency – with no formal structure, each time a
  new spreadsheet is set up the formatting will be different.


• Difficult to compile information – risk management
  information could be held within hundreds of spreadsheets across the
  organization.  Compiling them is a very long and arduous task.

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