While the investment industry has its quirks and own industry language, when it comes to processes, we might not be so different from other industries after all. Many of us, like many of our peers across finance, consulting or any data-intensive field, still rely on spreadsheets as our (or our organization’s) lifeline.
In principle, there is nothing wrong with that. Spreadsheets are indispensable and readily accessible tools for managing, analyzing and reporting data. But as integral as they are, they come with a hidden danger: Their complexity and the potential for hidden errors can be devastating in some cases.
In my career in mergers and acquisitions (M&A), I have yet to partake in a transaction where, in hindsight, value was not left on the table, sometimes up to eye-watering amounts in the region of the tens of millions of U.S. dollars. The culprit? Data integrity errors, Microsoft Excel user errors, or oversights from middle management. The sheer number of
