Cell-based modelling is a root cause of Excel hell. Some of the unavoidable issues include simple errors in formula construction; returning error values; errors in formulas dependent on other feeder cells that are only apparent later; and errors containing the notation #REF that make financial statement rollups unreadable.
At the most basic level, even very simple checksums can help you to maintain the integrity of every spreadsheet you construct. However, most people fail to plan this aspect, usually due to time pressures, but also because of a lack of expertise or even pure laziness. Therefore, why not build every new spreadsheet from a template already containing a basic checksum structure?
In this article, we show you how to do this so that there will be nothing to stop you from implementing checksums!
James Power, Principal/Development Director, FD4CAST LTD
Interim Management Group News - August 2010
